5 Questions with Amanda Weinstein and John Austin — One of the four outcomes guiding the Reimagining the Civic Commons approach to public space investment is value creation, which we define as encouraging additional investments in neighborhoods so that they are better places for everyone to thrive. …

5 lessons from inspirational public space efforts in Akron — Earlier this month, the Civic Commons Learning Network hosted a multi-day learning journey to Akron, Ohio, to better understand what this city in Northeast Ohio had learned from six years as a Civic Commons demonstration city. Over 2.5 days we delved deep on the Akron Civic Commons model and talked…

Practices promoting sustainability awareness and action — A key goal for Reimagining the Civic Commons is environmental sustainability. As climate change accelerates and the policy and public discussion of resilience continues, public spaces can play a unique role in delivering ecological benefits to their cities, increasing walkability and bikeability of communities, welcoming people into nature and enhancing…

6 practices from cities across the country — A key goal for Reimagining the Civic Commons is environmental sustainability. As climate change accelerates and communities grapple with a diversity of related challenges including urban heat islands, altered growing seasons, increased stormwater, species loss and sea level rise, communities are reconsidering the power of public spaces to model climate…

The recently signed federal omnibus spending bill includes funding for revitalizing public spaces in communities across the country. — In March, President Joe Biden signed a H.R. 2471, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act” of 2022, sometimes called the Omnibus Spending Bill. This bill allocates $1.5 trillion of spending to fund the government through 2022, and it also marked the return (after 11 years) of ‘earmarks’ (officially called Community Project Funding…

A connected public realm is critical for recovery — It’s been more than a year since the American Rescue Plan Act, known as ARPA, was passed into law. This historic, $1.9 …

A decade’s long journey to place driving equity — This is the first in a series of stories inspired by Place Driving Equity: An evidence-based action guide on the role of public space for shared prosperity. …

A conversation with Professor Vivek Shandas on the role of the public realm in community resilience — Professor Vivek Shandas specializes in developing strategies for addressing the implications of climate change on cities at Portland State University. He is the founder and director of Sustaining Urban Places Research Lab, a cross-disciplinary lab with a policy-relevant approach to research, which includes the evaluation of environmental stressors on human…

A conversation with the founders of Black Women Explore — Black Women Explore is an Akron-based outdoor recreation group centering on creating a space for Black and Brown women and fem-identifying folks in the Akron community to connect with nature and try new things. The group was started by Kimberly Young and Bronlynn Thurman in May 2021 and quickly grew…