Michelle Bruch talks with placemaking expert Fred Kent about the makeover he helped orchestrate of Detroit's Campus Martius Park.
Campus Martius Park did very well in Planetizen's recent survey to list the Top 100 Public Spaces in the U.S. and Canada, a collaboration with Project for Public Spaces (of which Kent is president). Kent says the poor economy is actually helping drive placemaking:
"In a way, the economy is helping us," Kent says. "People know they can't do big expensive projects, and instead they're doing a lot of little ones. There has been an explosion of interest because of that."
Bruch writes:
"Kent says the key to creating good public spaces is making people feel comfortable."
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