Memphis featured in PPS Newsletter on Waterfronts

And they'll be here March 31 to lead us in an interactive, on-site "Placemaking" workshop on the riverfront.
Registration forms:

• Click here for individual registration form.
• Click here for group registration form.
• Architects: CEU credits available on a self-reporting basis; contact Heather Baugus at AIA office for more information.

The February Project for Public Spaces newsletter takes a look at “Waterfront Renaissance” and the opportunity waterfronts bring to create great public spaces. Memphis is included as they discuss how to turn a waterfront around, the challenges, failures, mistakes, and successes.

The values of a community, its history, uniqueness, geography, and culture are all involved in a waterfront’s renaissance. As PPS points out, “A waterfront project for a town resembles a blank canvas for an artist. Anything is possible, including a masterpiece. Because it is so central to the life of that community, representing so many competing claims about its history and where it is now headed, there's an opportunity for a breakthrough in how people in that place think of themselves. Will the city stay on the familiar course of standard-issue condos, office towers and road construction, or will it boldly assert community values--and maintain the essential publicness of the waterfront--by creating a gathering spot that attracts and inspires us?”

PPS will be in Memphis on March 31 to lead Memphians in taking a fresh look at the riverfront. As PPS says, “The basic question on everyone's lips will be: How can the waterfront attract people and connect neighborhoods to their public spaces? When the goal is to optimize public use of the waterfront, then development and design will evolve to support the community's needs and aspirations.”

Click here to read the PPS newsletter.

And come join the discussion on March 31. Your input and involvement can help shape the future of our waterfront. As Charleston, S. C. Mayor Riley said, it’s our “finest edge,” and as you’ve said, “it’s our #1 treasure.” We have a shot at creating a masterpiece for ourselves and future generations.

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Shelby County Delegation visited PPS Project

A Shelby County delegation traveled to New York in January to study Bryant Park, one of the Project for Public Spaces’ (PPS) early success stories. Soon, on March 31, PPS will bring their skills to Memphis to help us envision a dynamic riverfront. Come take part.

In the 1980s, PPS gained international acclaim for their role in helping transform Bryant Park from a derelict space nicknamed “Needle Park” into a place now described as “one of the most sensual, graceful open spaces in New York City.”

Bryant Park, which adjoins the NY Public Library, is about the size of the Memphis Public Promenade from Union to Adams. 133 years old, it was revitalized, and today it is a social place where friends meet, eat lunch, chat, stroll, listen to music, work on the wireless network, or simply sit and think. Year-round, New Yorkers love this park with its gravel paths, green chairs, carousel, chess tables, free yoga classes, outdoor library, and Bryant Park Grill.

And the park’s transformation had a tremendous financial impact on surrounding private space. Commercial rents in neighboring office buildings increased 155-225% within ten years of the park’s revival (versus 41-73% in other submarkets). Nearby leasing activity within two years of reopening increased 60% and nearby residential sale prices and assessed property values increased, too.

Over the last thirty years, PPS’s concepts and skills have impacted more than 1500 communities in 47 U.S. states and 24 countries. On March 31, PPS founder Fred Kent, will be Memphis to help us take a fresh look at the riverfront.

Click here to read an interview with Fred Kent in this month’s Urban Land Institute magazine (PDF file, 97K)

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to learn from PPS how we can create great spaces in Memphis. Register today.

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