By Ellen Spitaleri
Loni Gray, a Richmond resident, wants to “establish a dynamic, healthy relationship between the people who live in our neighborhoods and those who build in them.” She hopes to provide training for the next generation of small-project developers to be what she calls placemakers; these are the people who will help local neighborhoods thrive. With these goals in mind, Gray has started the Neighborhood Placemakers Network (NPN) for “anyone who wants to learn to develop physical places in one or more neighborhoods they care about, and to make the neighborhoods better serve those who reside or visit there.”
Placemakers are people who might already be developing or designing a building, project managing or helping people get permits. Or they might be what Gray calls “housing artisans,” those who make the metal and wood custom parts for our houses. NPN will offer training and resources in all aspects of placemaking, Gray said, adding that “these passionate folks probably work for someone, so I’m asking them if they want to learn to become an entrepreneurial placemaker and follow their own vision.”
“I believe that neighborhood evolution is best when it is based on an open civil, on-going communication and exchange of ideas,” Gray said. She has plenty of experience in a variety of housing disciplines. She has hands-on experience in construction, project management and small home and collaborative-living design, policy advocacy and income real estate and finance. “I’ve swung a hammer myself and designed small projects to make them happy places for people to live in. Plus, I have been involved in local housing policy, so this effort brings all this together,” Gray said. She added that she knows this is a big vision; still she hopes she can “develop rigorous placemakers who evolve and nurture our neighborhoods.”
Gray noted that there’s a crucial difference in the way NPN trains its Placemakers compared to most developers. At NPN, they learn that they must listen to the people who actually live in and visit local neighborhoods. It must become part of their business practice. “NPN wants to make it the norm to have a full circle of communication around what gets built in any neighborhood, so that it grows from the needs and ideas of people who live in that place,” she said. To achieve this, she asks residents to walk around their neighborhoods “with intention; to see it again with fresh eyes.” This will enable them to “articulate what they want and need.” She trains her placemakers to create an on-going feedback loop to continually hear what neighbors hope for.
NPN’s mission is three-fold. First, to “nurture, train and support a network of local placemakers who will transform local neighborhoods” by meeting the needs of those who live in them,” Gray said. Residents who have ideas about things they’d like to see in their neighborhood are encouraged to contact her to find out which placemakers are working in their area. Secondly, to put together “a swarm of people doing small neighborhood projects,” so their “collective clout garners local government, lender and community respect.” This will ease the time it takes to get those projects done. And finally, NPN hopes to make state legislators realize and respect the small, entrepreneurial placemakers who are so vital to achieving positive changes in neighborhoods.
NPN is a for-profit organization. “Revenues will come from a mentoring program for my members and hopefully from a fund where Portland citizens can invest to wealth-build as their neighborhood places are restored.” There will also be classes taught by local experts and city officials who will teach the next generation to listen and learn the nuts and bolts of building, Gray noted. She added that all members will receive “Establishing a Placemakers Practice,” a guide she has put together to help members create the business structures they need, and to help them grow an on-going feedback loop with residents as part of their professional practice.
Gray hopes that ultimately NPN will build an “ecosystem of wise, holistic neighborhood developer placemakers, who care about improving where we live.” Small projects might include starter homes, collaborative housing and fixing forgotten, mixed-use properties or adding spaces where local entrepreneurial businesses can have the space to serve. She added, “I call my members placemakers; they notice, they listen and then they act.” Visit NeighborhoodPlacemakers.net to learn more about NPN.