Spaces to Places

A view of the reflecting pool at the Washington Mall from the Lincoln Memorial

Reprinted from the e-newsletter of Project for Public Spaces. You can subscribe here.

As the COVID-19 pandemic proceeds, public life has had to shrink to ensure that the virus ceases to spread through our communities.

Spaces to Places Blog: Placemaking: Big impacts, Small Towns

Placemaking is more than beautiful murals — it is an approach that actively stimulates and sustains downtown economic development.

Ribbon cutting ceremony and snowfall at The Perch, Henderson, Kentucky

Written by Missy Vanderpool, Association Executive, Henderson Audubon Board of Realtors®

The Henderson Audubon Board of REALTORS® used NAR's placemaking grants to transform a vacant lot into a beautiful gathering place for the entire community.

People working on building a community garden

Written by Bridget Anderson, Patronicity

Crowdgranting taps into the communities ideas, skills, resources, and funds can make placemaking more powerful. Whether it’s an empty alleyway or an abandoned silo, these are spaces that need change and are ripe for improvement from a community that has a stake in how these problems are solved.

A Storybook Trail is a fun, educational activity that places the pages from a children’s story along a trail in a community. It is for children of all levels to enjoy the outdoors and read a book with their family and friends.

A park with a walking path, picnic tables, recently planted trees, and trellises.

Our Placemaking Grant is available to our REALTOR® Associations to help fund the creation of new public spaces and destinations in a community.

Entrance to the Boys and Girls Club in Mercer County NJ with bycicles decorating the fence

Written by Erin McFeeters, Content Coordinator, New Jersey REALTORS®

What was once a vacant lot on Centre Street in Trenton, NJ is now an educational community garden for the Boys and Girls Club. The NJ Realtors® Housing Opportunity Foundation donated $5,000 towards the cause plus pursued a $5,000 Placemaking Grant through NAR for a small library.

Lansing, MI, Pop-Up Park - realtors planting a tree in the park

Written by Meghan Webber, CEO, Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS®

The Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS® developed an Adopt-A-Park project where each year the Association adopts a neighborhood park to create a community destination and gathering place in the community.

Melbourne, FL dog park - covered area with sand pit, tire toys

Written by Tammie Watts, Government Affairs Director, Space Coast Association of REALTORS®

It may be hard to envision the value NAR’s Placemaking grants have within a community if one has never seen the final product come to life. In Brevard County, we were able to witness first-hand just what a difference these grants can make.

Written by Michael Wagler, Main Street Iowa State Coordinator, Main Street Iowa.

There is a growing understanding in the economic development discipline that creating a place where people want to be is a critical element to creating a strong, sustainable, interconnected community and economic development strategy.

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Community Outreach Programs

Housing Opportunity Grant
Housing Opportunity Grants support state and local REALTOR® Associations’ affordable housing activities. The goal of the program is to position REALTORS® as leaders in improving their communities by creating affordable housing
opportunities.

Smart Growth Grant
Smart growth is an approach to development that encourages a mix of building types and uses, diverse housing and transportation options, development within existing neighborhoods, and community engagement. The Smart Growth Program offers state and local REALTOR® Associations to way to engage with government officials, community partners and the general public in planning and designing community’s future.

Diversity
Planned diversity initiatives makes good business sense. REALTOR® Associations with well-planned diversity programs create a stronger sense of community, particularly in neighborhoods with high concentrations of foreign-born and minority residents who are moving up the socioeconomic ladder and are buying homes.

NAR Placemaking Resources

Placemaking Guide: A Guide to Transform a Public Space into a Community Place
REALTORS® and state and local association staff can learn the details of Placemaking, the kinds of projects placemaking entails, how to organize them, and where to go for assistance and resources.

Placemaking Webinar Series
Our Placemaking Webinar Series will provide more in depth information on the various types of Placemaking and how REALTORS® were involved in Placemaking activities in their communities.

Placemaking Grant
The Placemaking Grant funds the creation of new public spaces, like pocket parks, trails & gardens, in a community. The grant focuses on “lighter, cheaper, quicker” placemaking projects, which can be built under a year and cost less than $200,000.