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Better Places Resources

 

We've prepared this list of resources from local and national placemaking organizations, including the Department of Housing and Community Development and its partners, to give project-specific guidance and to serve as a primer to placemaking and its possibilities for your community. Keep scrolling to find resources on getting started with placemaking, best practices, health and wellness projects, small business-centric advice, street, pop-up, and demonstration projects, winter placemaking, parklets, creative placemaking, and funding resources.

PEOPLE - Equity in Placemaking

Equity Guidance Checklist

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

Guide Creative Placemaking for Welcoming Communities

Homelessness in Parks: An Inclusive Practices Guide

Improving Health Outcomes Through Placemaking

Rural Voices: Cultivating Citizen-Led Design

Metathemes Report  - Design Impact

Recipes for Change

Equity Language Guide

Black Space Manifesto

Making Temporary Events Accessible

Equity Toolkit

PLACE - Characteristics of a Great Place

Navigating Main Streets as Places: A people-first transportation toolkit

Walk Audit Worksheet

What Makes a Successful Place

Placemaking Toolkit

Vermont Design Toolkit

The Case for Healthy Places

PROCESS - Community-Led Placemaking

DIY Cookbook

Locally-led Neighborhoods

Activating the Main Street Approach Through Placemaking

Creative Placemaking Toolkit

The Place Game: How We Make the Community the Expert

Locally Led Neighborhoods - Visioning Exercise

Community Engagement

8 80 Cities Civic Engagement Tools

Community-led Demonstration Project Policy + Guide

Partnership Basics

Hiring Artists: RFPs, Calls for Entry and Commissions

Placemaking Education Resources

Community Led Placemaking Manual

Engaging with Local Electeds and Agencies

Involving Neighbors and Stakeholders

VCRD Community Leadership Guide

Press Release Template 

GUIDES for SPECIFIC TYPES OF PLACEMAKING

Arts and Culture

Art Installation Guidance

Places of Possibility: Public Art and Placemaking Toolkit for Rural Communities

Creative Placemaking: Sparking Development with Arts and Culture

Asphalt Art Guide: How to Reclaim City Roadways and Public Infrastructure with Art

Resource Hub

Action Plan for Vermont's Creative Sector

VTrans Art Installation Guidance

Beautifying and Greening

The Guide to Green Infrastructure

Vermont Green Streets Guide

Establishing a Neighborhood Beautification Program

Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Programs

Street Improvements

Demonstration Project in Vermont Right-of-Ways

Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery

Make your Street a Play Street! A step-by-step toolkit

Parklets

Rutland's Downtown Parklet Pilot Project Form

Montpelier's Parklet Guidelines + Application

San Francisco Parklet Manual

Reclaiming The Right Of Way: a toolkit for creating and implementing parklets

Pop-Ups

The Pop-Up Placemaking Toolkit

Local Food Access

Establish a Garden Project

Farmers Market Resources

Urban Agriculture Toolkit

Winter Placemaking

Winter Design Guidelines: Transforming Edmonton into a Great Winter City

Winter Downtown Activation Strategies

Four Season Patio Design Tips

Wintermission Flash Cards

Winter Placemaking Toolkit
 

Distancing

Design for Distancing Ideas Guidebook
 

Business

A Friendly Business Guide For Outdoor Expansion Tactics

 

MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, PRICING and POLICY

Burlington's Quick Build Design + Material Standards

DIY Cookbook

Materials and Equipment Pricing

Tactical Urbanist’s Guide to Materials and Design

Better Block Manual

Recipe Library

Making Temporary Events Accessible

MEASURING PROGRESS and IMPACT

Measuring and Evaluation Resources

Measuring What Matters: DIY Toolkit

Evaluating and Measuring Impact

Storytelling and Documentation

Toolkit: How to Measure Progress

Vermont Story Lab

Telling Your Story with Video

FUNDING

Crowdfunding Strategy Guide

Equitable Park Funding Hub from City Parks Alliance

Downtown and Village Funding Directory from DHCD

Community Challenge Grants from AARP

Animating Infrastrcuture Grants from Vermont Arts Council

National Endowment for the Arts Grant Program

Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge from the USDA

Municipal Planning Grants from DHCD

Building Equity for Native Communities

VERMONT PLACEMAKING PROGRAMS AND PARTNERS

Better Places Program

All 2020 Better Places Pilot Projects

Better Connections Program/Story Map

Vermont Placemaking Meet-Ups

Vermont Arts Council

Vermont Community Garden Network

VLCT

AARP Vermont

Preservation Trust of Vermont

Local Motion

Vermont Department of Health

Vermont Agency of Transportation

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets

Strengthening VT Communities with Public Art