Resilience depends on more than infrastructure. It requires strong places that connect people and support local enterprise. TIP’s projects in Texas and Florida illustrate how placemaking strategies preserve identity, enhance business recovery, and attract new investment. Communities that weave placemaking into their planning are better prepared to withstand disruption and sustain long-term economic growth.
Outdoor recreation is a cornerstone of community competitiveness, but true destination development requires thoughtful stewardship. Lessons from Park City, Utah; Stowe, Vermont; and West Virginia show that by protecting natural assets, reinvesting in infrastructure, and ensuring residents and visitors enjoy the benefits of outdoor recreation growth, communities can build resilient, long-term economies.
Balancing Destination Development with Stewardship Read More
For 30 years, TIP has led the field in thinking holistically about growth, emphasizing how place-based factors like quality of life, housing, and community connection drive economic success. Senior partner Jeff Marcell explores how this approach to placemaking helps communities attract talent, foster innovation, and build the social fabric that sustains long-term prosperity.
Large-scale redevelopment projects like deck parks can unlock long-term economic value—but only with vision, patience, and strategic alignment. Drawing on examples across Texas and the US, VP John Karras shares lessons for practitioners navigating complex efforts involving infrastructure, placemaking, and public-private partnerships, with an emphasis on how communities can prepare for transformational change over decades, not years.
How Long-Term Planning Powers Major Urban Redevelopment Projects Read More
Outdoor recreation is fueling a new wave of entrepreneurship and place-based economic growth. TIP’s recent work in Colorado and Michigan shows how aligning natural assets with higher education, startup support, and industry innovation can build resilient local economies. Communities that treat outdoor recreation as an economic engine—not just tourism—are better positioned to compete for business, talent, and investment.
Outdoor Recreation as a Catalyst for Place-Based Innovation Read More
Transparent and well-documented implementation is key to the success of long-term planning efforts. GIS is an especially effective tool for tracking specific, place-based projects, including infrastructure and mobility improvements. Regional organizations and governments in places like Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and Seattle are using GIS maps to enhance accountability and ensure stakeholders can see tangible progress across multiple plans and agencies.
Tracking Active Transportation Improvements with GIS Read More
While it is often overlooked, placemaking has emerged as an essential factor in building successful innovation ecosystems. Erica Colston’s latest post explores two innovation hubs—North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park and Pegasus Park in Dallas, Texas—to illustrate how placemaking strategies have adapted to succeed in today’s innovation environment.
The process of placemaking is a means to bridge gaps across racial and socioeconomic lines, expand access to economic opportunity, and foster social inclusion within communities. These outcomes, however, require intentional efforts and a commitment to tackle unintentional practices that lead to division, creating unequal access to amenities, public spaces, and prosperity.
Rural America faces disparities in access to essential services and opportunities compared to urban areas. While the percentage of households without vehicles is similar across rural and urban regions, the income gap is substantial, highlighting the need for affordable and equitable mobility solutions. Could microtransit offer a promising solution to address this challenge?
Rising office vacancy rates following the COVID-19 pandemic have renewed conversations about the role of adaptive reuse. Jenn Todd-Goynes highlights notable examples of communities that have brought together public and private interests to transform vacant sites and underutilized assets into quality places that generate positive impacts and provide preferred destinations for people, businesses, and visitors.
Creating Place-Based Economic Impacts Through Adaptive Reuse Read More
