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Creative Placemaking

Author: Steven Holt

Promoting Walkability in Midwestern Cities

The River Market: a small example of a walkable space in Kansas City, MO. Photo by Steven Holt.

Creative placemaking in urban settings is a method of promoting walkability, which provides health, economic, and environmental benefits to a city.  Studies show a strong correlation between higher density, more walkable neighborhoods and lower rates of carbon emissions, electricity consumption, and obesity, as well as a larger percentage of income spent locally.  However, in the United States, with a few exceptions, cities and especially suburbs are designed to be convenient and comfortable for the car first, at the expense of pedestrians and cyclists.  The benefits of people walking and cycling are too numerous to count, and thus should be one of the primary goals of design at the local, neighborhood, and city scale.