Thursday, May 29, 2014

Community coaching returns to New Jersey

By Leonardo Vazquez

Community coaching is a great way to build a plan for better creative placemaking in your community, as well as a team of stewards to help turn ideas into action.

It has been used in 14 communities in New Jersey and Louisiana since it was developed in 2011 by the leadership of The National Consortium for Creative Placemaking. Communities as small as hamlets and as big as regions have used community coaching to help them diversify their economy, bring artists together with other businesspeople, and address numerous social issues.

Community coaching has also been proven to build new partnerships and the ability of stakeholders to take
on more leadership roles in their communities.

In this program, a trained community coach is paired with a team of 12 to 30 community members who agree to work for 6 to 9 months on a set of creative placemaking strategies.  Teams meet every 3 to 4 weeks, and are guided by their coach to develop ideas and priorities, including implementation strategies.  Each team has a diverse mixture of artists, public officials, community representatives and businesspeople.

The next round of community coaching starts in October 2014.

Thanks to a partnership with PlanSmart NJ, community coaching is now being made available to communities throughout New Jersey.   Learn more about or register for the program in New Jersey.

To learn more about community coaching in general, please join us for our upcoming free webinar:  Community coaching -- a new way to speak truth to power.   It is June 3, from 2 to 3 pm eastern.  1 AICP CM credit is available.  Learn more or register

Due to overwhelming demand, Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit to be webcast

By Leonardo Vazquez

Most of the Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit, scheduled for June 19 in downtown Newark, will be webcast.  This will allow people who were not able to register for the program because it is sold out to watch the panel discussions and speakers on the Internet.  It also means that anyone who can't make it to Newark can also participate.

We are working to get a bigger room to accommodate as many people as possible.  So, if you want to attend, please feel free to put yourself on the waiting list, register for a half-day option, or register for the webcast.  If we are able to get a bigger space, we will contact you to see if you would like to join us in person.

Learn more or register for the event




Monday, May 12, 2014

Seats are filling up for the upcoming Certification in Creative Placemaking program

By Leonardo Vazquez, Executive Director, The National Consortium for Creative Placemaking

The Certification in Creative Placemaking program, beginning in August is over half full. Please register soon to guarantee your enrollment in this year's program.  You can join other professionals in the arts, public affairs or urban planning in a community of practice in a fast-growing field.

Students in the program get deep learning in various aspects of creative placemaking.  These include: community development, local economic development, team development and capacity building, site planning, and cultural tourism. Students also build their capacity to promote, influence and lead through a series of entrepreneurial leadership sessions.  The program is entirely online, but students will have opportunities to meet their classmates in person.

Please learn more about the program or register.  Or, please join us at an upcoming information session:

June 4, 12 to 1 pm eastern       Register
July 1, 12 to 1 pm eastern        Register
August 6, 6 to 7 pm eastern     Register

Questions?  Contact Leonardo Vazquez, Program Director, at 973-763-6352 or by email






For movers, shakers and doers: Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit, June 19, Newark, NJ

By Leonardo Vazquez, Executive Director, NCCP

The Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit, June 19, 2014 in Newark, NJ, offers you an opportunity to learn from successful practitioners, as well as share your own insights.  It will be held from 9 am to 4 pm June 19, 2014 in downtown Newark at North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, One Newark Center.

Get new ideas for making places better through arts and culture and building more creative communities.
Learn from experts in real estate development, public administration, arts management, and urban planning.
Share your insights in peer learning sessions.

The event features panel discussions that include an artist, developer, nonprofit administrator, former elected official and funders.  Keynoting the presentation will be Jane Golden, the founder of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Project.  This is an internationally-known program that connects public art with community development.

The event is free, but seats are limited.  As of the time of this writing, there were only about 50 seats left.
Learn more or register for the event.