Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/233760
"A zealous nut is someone with a poorly developed sense of fear, and no concept of the odds against them. They make the impossible happen." –Fred Kent, founder and president of the Project for Public Spaces Kong, Scotland, Norway and The Netherlands, among many other places. Before founding PPS, he studied with Margaret Mead and worked with William H. Whyte on the Street Life Project in New York City. Kent was the coordinator and chairman of New York City's Earth Day in 1970 and in 1990. The concept of placemaking, Kent explains, is about creating the optimum use for people in a given space – finding ways to develop places "lighter, quicker, cheaper" to attract people. The more activities you can do in a place, the more people will gravitate there. Kent believes in "the power of 10," meaning an attractive destination will have at least 10 things people can do in it. "Think of a town or a street as a set of destinations," he says. "Are there things you can do, or is it really just a building – an object?" Trends are showing that the automobile culture is beginning to lose out to a greater interest in walkability, Kent says. The Millennial generation is much less enthralled with the car than previous generations (the percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds with a driver's license is at a new low, just 67 percent, according to the Federal Highway Administration). He believes developers must heed such trends if they want to build sustainable projects. "People hold onto the idea that the car is sacred, and that is kind of a disease," Kent says. "They get sucked into this idea that everybody has to have a car." Such thinking results in projects that require an enormous amount of space for streets and parking, which separate people from each other. Kent acknowledges it can be a challenge for any community to w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m transform itself, but forward-thinking community developers will find a way. "This is common sense, it's not rocket science," he says. "It appeals to people and their future because they're helping to define it. It's enormously satisfying and participatory." It does, however, require what he calls "zealous nuts," or passionate community leaders. "A zealous nut is someone with a poorly developed sense of fear, and no concept of the odds against them. They make the impossible happen." InDevelopment 2014, set from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 27, will include exhibits, lunch and plenty of time on the web To learn more about Fred Kent and the Project for Public Spaces, visit: www.pps.org for networking throughout the day. Speed networking with members of the Northeast Wisconsin Regional Economic Partnership (NEWREP) will round out the morning. Afternoon breakout sessions on commercial financing and an idea exchange, in addition to the workshop with Kent, will be followed by a commercial real estate panel discussion. The day caps off with a networking cocktail reception. Coordinated by Insight Publications LLC, this year's host sponsor is the City of Appleton. In addition to keynote sponsor FNB Fox Valley, other sponsors include Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction, Inc.; Kwik Trip, Inc.; and Schenck, S.C. For a listing of other upcoming events, please visit insightonbusiness.com. Your Partner In Unified Communications If all you are getting from your phone is a dial tone, it's time to rethink your system. Unified Communications Systems from ShoreTel connects workers to production, elevates customer relationships from ordinary to extraordinary, and transforms call centers into profit centers. It will change the face – and voice – of your business. To schedule a demo and learn what ShoreTel can do for your organization, please contact one of our ShoreTel Specialists at (920) 435-5353 Corner of Main & Monroe • Downtown Green Bay (920) 435-5353 • Online @ www.cccp.com J a n u a r y 2 014 • Insight | 21