The Musicant Group

The Great Ribbon Cutting Divide - why thinking that all changes to a space have to stop at the ribbon cutting leads to the spaces not being very attuned to the needs and desires of those who use it thereafter. The latest from The Musicant Group's Practice of Place blog: https://lnkd.in/gPG4YZu6

How to create real and perceived safety in urban place. The latest from our Practice of Place blog https://lnkd.in/gZuGm-kB

We’ve talked about the importance of providing moveable chairs in spaces before- but have you noticed that the specific placements of these chairs influence the ways people interact with one another? Because of this, the simple act of moving a chair can be an act of placemaking in and of itself. By moving a chair or group of chairs, you can alter the entire experience of a place. To illustrate this idea, try a chair experiment with us: Find yourself in a place with chairs, where multiple people might gather. First: Move your chair so that you have privacy in the space. Second: Move your chair so that you could meet exactly one other person. Third: Move your chair so that you could have a conversation with a group. This exercise helps us think about how subtle adjustments to a physical space can be made with human interaction at the forefront. It also reminds us of the importance of creating spaces which are flexible, especially where users desire to partake in multiple types of experiences, at multiple times throughout the year. #placemaking #places #publicspacedesign #creativeplacemaking #placestrategy #placemakingstrategy

When it comes to caring for public amenities, we’ve learned that there is a magic to working with local, invested individuals to provide flexible care as an alternative to more standardized systems of maintenance. In 2019, The Musicant Group was retained by the City of Minneapolis to increase awareness, access, and create positive experiences at their “Mobility Hubs,” to inform future planning for these new transit centers. Our pilot began with hubs at 12 important transit points, and led to a citywide Mobility Hub network, growing to include 32 hubs by 2022, and expanding significantly into Downtown. These hubs included vibrant wayfinding signage, Nice Ride bicycles, scooter parking spots, modular seating, and creative opportunities for engagement, such as magnet poetry and information boxes. Our most crucial strategy, however, was our enlistment of local Ambassadors from the surrounding community to act as stewards to these hubs. At the end of our pilot, our Ambassadors reported that they felt they were able to build valuable relationships with regulars at each site, and, conversely, Mobility Hub users reported feeling safer with the presence of Ambassadors on-site. The care they provided to the physical space, the relationships they built, and the resultant sense of safety at these sites, were huge contributors to the buy-in and success of this project. #transportation #mobilityhubs #placemaking #places #publicspacedesign #creativeplacemaking #placestrategy #placemakingstrategy

As the weather’s warmed, and you’ve spent more time walking through parks and outdoor spaces, have you noticed any unofficial paths carved out in the ground, worn down by repetitive use? We like to refer to these as “desire lines,” and there are interesting examples of this phenomenon almost anywhere you find people living. A city planner may pave a path which they assume will be the best one, when in reality, the people who actually use that space on a daily basis find that another, unofficial route is more desirable to them. An old school response would be to cover these paths up; a placemaker’s response would be to formalize them, and make them better. Our rule of thumb is: follow desire lines, and emphasize them! They are excellent clues as to how a populace of people is already making use of a space, and can aid you in the designing spaces which further match the desires of its users. #desirepaths #placemaking #places #publicspacedesign #creativeplacemaking #placestrategy #placemakingstrategy

Our 6 step process is a cyclical tool, and therefore most useful if it is repeated, allowing you to use what you learn and apply it to the next iteration of a project. Once you move beyond the first cycle, you open yourself up to making larger investments based on what you've learned, to having increased impacts on the places you’re working in, and on the people who are inhabiting them. By treating projects iteratively, you create potential to change the conversation about the impacts of your work for the better, by rooting the discussion in real outcomes and experiences, which you can re-create and build upon. #placemaking #places #publicspacedesign #creativeplacemaking #placemakingstrategy #placestrategy

The sixth step in our process of Change & Placemaking is: “Evaluate.” Data is a strong lever for change, as long as you’re collecting the correct type of feedback and asking the right questions. Going into the evaluation process, make sure you know what elements your (current and future) stakeholders care the most about so that the questions you pose and the data you collect yields useful answers for how it all went. This data can be used as a tool to: - Quantify the intuitively positive elements of your work; - Communicate the value of the projects to current and future partners and supporters; - Learn how things could be improved for the future; - Build momentum for future positive changes. Keep in mind that, when evaluating, the way you pose a question not only influences the response you get; the act of asking a question in a particular way is also a useful tool for communicating the narrative of a space and conveying information about how it is being used. #placemaking #places #publicspacedesign #creativeplacemaking #placestrategy #placemakingstrategy

The fifth step in our process of Change & Placemaking is to: “Tell the Story.” It’s easy to forget sometimes that the story being told about a place will shape the behavior within it. While you work, remember that value is created through both use and awareness, and that it’s important to communicate through each step during which a place is being shaped: telling the story of what is going to happen in the future, what is currently happening, and what has happened in the past. All of these contribute to the overarching narrative of a space, and will influence its use. #placemaking #places #publicspacedesign #creativeplacemaking #placestrategy #placemakingstrategy