These quick hits aren’t too long, so you can read them now. Bone up on your UPMO acumen with these plucky points:
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What does your marketing sound like? Get the down and dirty on 13 sounds to amp your auditory comms on Insta.
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Win it with minis! Size matters when miniature interactive art installations punch above their weight to make your place pop.
- What the sneck?!? Mother Nature moonlights as an urban planner with a snow shovel and a point to prove about human behavior.
Photo credit: by Call Me Fred on Unsplash
In our last edition of the Bulletin, we explored ways to boost local patriotism (or “pride of place” as we prefer to call it), and while researching the article, we were hard-pressed to find easily available examples of places that celebrate their local vernacular architecture with events and activations. Of course, our network came to the rescue and loaded us up on evidence from around the country.
Big props and thanks to Matthew Provolt, the Director of Planning & Design from University Circle in Cleveland, who shared with us some spectacular examples to model your local programming after. Matt readily rattled off examples from the top of his head, including Goff Fest in Tulsa, OK, as well as the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture’s crawls, which sound hella fun! Open House Chicago also hosts a slate of architecturally-grounded events. Matt pointed out that Deco is all the rage again, and not surprisingly considering our current appetite for nostalgia, with tier one cities like celebrating Deco design that’s both the bee’s knees and the cat’s pajamas. The Art Deco Society of Los Angeles appropriately does brunch. Miami makes it a full weekend of celebrations with Art Deco Weekend. And just last week, the Alliance for Downtown New York published a guide to Downtown Deco, which could of course become a future Jane’s Walk or episode of The Bowery Boys podcast to further lean into the trend.
We asked Matthew for his take on the impact of vernacular architecture, and he shared his insights through the lens of his district by telling us, “Pride of place can stem from many things, and with a wealth of vernacular architectural styles in the US, many places can celebrate and engage their communities through exploration of architecture to connect the past with the present. Here in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood, our storied history of great civic institutions, hallowed halls of learning, and renowned medical facilities, all built among the homes of Cleveland’s Gilded Age high society, have given us a treasure trove of grand architectural monuments. Whether it’s the gleaming marble columns of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the art deco bas-reliefs of Severance Hall, the soaring stainless steel forms of Frank Gehry’s Peter B. Lewis Building, or the tranquil Olmsted-designed landscapes of Wade Park, we’ve got it all. If you’ve never been, we invite you to visit, enjoy, explore and engage with our stunning architectural heritage that exemplifies Cleveland’s inspiring history, dynamic present, and bright future.”
And we will second Matt’s invite to explore University Circle. It is one of the most stunning examples of landscape architecture in the States, with the Circle’s inimitable Wade Park punctuated by a slate of cultural institutions that you could spend a week exploring. How does your district program to its architectural heritage, and have you found it to be a booster for local “Pride of Place”? Let us know!
Photo credit: by Abdullah Guc on Unsplash
… that art (embedded early — and paid for fairly) is essential to community identity, economic value, and long-term resilience? That’s the word from the Urban Land Institute, and our professional partner Nancy Miyahira from Third Space Creative. Many of us know Nancy, as a longtime IDA member and the powerhouse force behind the Georgetown (DC) BID’s now-famous (and oft-copied) Georgetown Glow festival, as well as being the Director of Arts & Culture for Georgetown Heritage. Suffice it to say, Nancy understands the power of creative in culturing community, and she recently moderated an all-female panel with ULI exploring how placemaking starts with artists. The summary of the Miyahira-led event highlights opportunities, pitfalls and the power that art provides our communities — including best practices for undertaking your own public art, streetscape beautification or public realm activation plan. Simply put, art underscores place, and we must include it from the onset for vibrant and resilient local communities.
Photo credit: by Sara Cottle on Unsplash
Welcome to the 207! The entire state of Maine shares one area code, and so for years Portland Downtown has been celebrating this numerical trifecta as part of their pride of place, on February 7th. But this year was a little different (frankly, a LOT different), and that called for a change of tact. As Executive Director Cary Tyson explained on Linkedin, “Portland & Maine have been through it over the last couple of weeks…” — referring to an ICE occupation the city successfully endured. To rally support and generate love (and money) for those affected in the community, the BID decided this year to celebrate 207 Day with a campaign of kindness centered in an audacious bingo card and donation campaign. The bingo card itself is a love note to the community, featuring creative spots that foment community — like making a donation to a local organization, shoveling your neighbor’s driveway, shopping local and leaving positive reviews, and ofc, our fave, “Pet a dog (with permission) and chat with its owner”. One of the bingo spots recommends writing a haiku love note to Portland, and while we aren’t best with drafting seventeen-syllable soliloquies of steadfastness — we do absolutely love Portland Downtown’s take on 207/2026 and hope you do too. File this under “R&D” or “Ripoff and Deploy” in your own district. We all need more local love these days.
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
The League of American Bicyclists, an organization that’s been around since 1880, announced this month that 79 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) awards that recognize American towns, cities and regions that are showing up and standing up for cycling. It’s not just good for your health, it’s good for the community! Did you org make the list? Check out this year’s 79 additions to the 444 bicycle-friendly communities paving the way in the States today. If you didn’t make the cut, look no further for FREE information, stats and resources for a more bike friendly America.
Photo credit: by Nik on Unsplash
“Pride of place can stem from many things, and with a wealth of vernacular architectural styles in the US, many places can celebrate and engage their communities through exploration of architecture to connect the past with the present. Here in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood, our storied history of great civic institutions, hallowed halls of learning, and renowned medical facilities, all built among the homes of Cleveland’s Gilded Age high society, have given us a treasure trove of grand architectural monuments. Whether it’s the gleaming marble columns of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the art deco bas-reliefs of Severance Hall, the soaring stainless steel forms of Frank Gehry’s Peter B. Lewis Building, or the tranquil Olmsted-designed landscapes of Wade Park, we’ve got it all. If you’ve never been, we invite you to visit, enjoy, explore and engage with our stunning architectural heritage that exemplifies Cleveland’s inspiring history, dynamic present, and bright future.” – Matthew Provolt, Director of Planning & Design at University Circle, Inc.
