VIABLE PLACEMAKING

Cars jamming up in traffic and buildings popping up like mushrooms has become a common sight in many cities around the world. Although such rapid growth may be a daunting prospect, I propose to shed some light on those urban renewal developments that significantly improve living conditions in high density environments; amongst them, booming Downtown Brooklyn, the third largest business district in New York City, comes to mind.

This now-vibrant neighborhood is an example of an underutilized area that the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP), a visionary local development corporation integrated by members of the city’s public and private sector), transformed into a desirable and productive address by investing in the creation of high quality self-sustainable public spaces during the last decade.

Since January 2018, the Brooklyn-based firm TOTEM (https://totembrooklyn.com/) has taken on a similar creative endeavor in Central America that seeks to elevate the living conditions of four communities settled near Parque Cuscatlán, in San Salvador, El Salvador. Their strategy is to target specific areas surrounding the park in order to implement some of the placemaking principles they tested while working in association with the DBP.

As shown in their proposal, several parking lots in proximity to the park were chosen to receive the multi-purpose mobile structure they designed as an amenity for neighborhood residents to engage park visitors in different kinds of cultural and commercial activities.

“Through our experience in Brooklyn, we realized that a powerful transformation takes place when you bring different stakeholders and community members together through the act of placemaking.” “Drawing upon the unique character of an area to lay the foundation for a resonant branding and narrative strategy ultimately helps inform the vision for long-term economic revitalization.” J. Manuel Mansylla, co-founder and principal of TOTEM.

TOTEM has been encouraging local developers, members the of the four communities and City Hall authorities to adopt a public-private partnership to ensure the long-term maintenance and management of their intervention. I hope that it becomes a successful pilot project for other cities in the country and the region to follow.