Local municipalities and communities are addressing an unprecedented number of challenges due to unrest, conflict and anxiety created by the COVID-19 pandemic, political turmoil and economic slowdown.
The impact of these current crises will persist long into the foreseeable future. Healing our communities and finding ways to encourage harmony among residents with diverse backgrounds and points of view will be key to the future success of our local economies and municipalities.
Creative Placemaking, as defined by the American Planning Association, is “a process where community members, artists, arts and culture organizations, developers, and other stakeholders use arts and cultural strategies to implement community-led change.” It has emerged as a critical tool that has been proven to transform neighborhoods, towns and cities by improving economic conditions and building a capacity for residents to take ownership of their local communities.
Community planners, real estate developers, residents and businesses are embracing Creative Placemaking to revitalize local economies, stabilize neighborhoods, promote businesses and provide jobs.
Now you too can develop the skills to initiate, collaborate and lead community renewal as a Certified Creative Placemaker, a program run by the NJIT Hub for Creative Placemaking.
Individuals who take this course come to us with a desire to be a change agent. They graduate and go on to improve the day-to-day experiences of residents and guide officials and employees so they can efficiently and effectively provide vital and valued services in their municipalities, counties and organizations across the state.
Elizabeth Limbrick, Senior Brownfields Advisor, Policy and Communications, NJEDA graduated from NJIT’s spring 2020 Creative Placemaking course and she states “As we go through the recovery from the current crises, the way we are going to make NJ succeed is through creative placemaking. It’s through giving voice to the community, integrating arts and culture and community led design that we will make NJ a place where all people want to live, want to work and want to play.”
There are a few spots left in NJIT’s Fall Certificate in Creative Placemaking course which starts on September 10th. Because of the Covid19 crisis, this iteration will be held in the virtual classroom. Therefore, participation is not limited to individuals who live within commuting distance to the NJIT campus in Newark, NJ. Anyone who lives anywhere in the world can participate in the Fall course.
Students in this course learn the process, principals, practice, and practical application of creative placemaking. They participate in group projects, identify and inventory location-based creative assets, define, design and tell the story of creative places and explore the use of the arts, economic development, urban and rural planning, and community development as an agent of change for sustainable community transformation. They also learn to identify and effectively communicate with community leaders and stakeholders.
Throughout this course, examples of creative places and approaches to creative placemaking from around the country are examined and discussed among the students, instructors and successful practitioners. By the end of this course, students have prepared a sample Creative Placemaking Plan and have completed a community project which details their process, outlines applied principles and provides an evaluation of local change.
Upon successful completion of this course, the student are awarded a Certificate and nine CEUs from NJIT and recognized as a Certified Creative Placemaker.
The NJIT Certificate in Creative Placemaking Fall session takes place between Sept. 10th and Dec. 21st, 2020. In order to maximize peer-to-peer exchange, class size for this course of study is strictly limited to a maximum of eight students in each cohort.
Learn more and register online or email The NJIT Hub for Creative Placemaking with any questions or for more information.