The Placemaking Round-Up
A biweekly newsletter with public space news, resources, and opportunities.
The Biweekly Bazaar
A curated dispatch on all things public markets plus the latest announcements from the Market Cities Program.
A biweekly newsletter with public space news, resources, and opportunities.
A curated dispatch on all things public markets plus the latest announcements from the Market Cities Program.
“With this partnership and funding, we are eager to support the school by making permanent infrastructure improvements that allow for a safer street and reduce the burden on administrators."— Sabina Sethi Unni, Schools Planner at Open Plans
A building on Clarkson Street in Manhattan, New York, is home to two diverse, specialized schools without a gym: City-As-School MS 560 and M721, a District 75 school. Without traffic calming measures or adequate pedestrian space, Clarkson Street is hectic, congested with cars during peak hours, and dangerous, with drivers using it as a cut-through to the nearby Holland Tunnel. The Community Placemaking Grant awarded to Open Plans will expand upon Clarkson Street’s success in NYC Department of Transportation’s Open Streets for Schools program, by improving the design of the street for a more lasting, engaging, and safe space for programming and usage by students and neighbors.
In April 2025, as part of Project for Public Spaces’ Community Placemaking Grants: Streets as Places & Destinations Stations, Open Plans was selected as one of three nonprofits to receive $100,000 each in direct funding, as well as planning, implementation, and capacity building assistance. Starting in April 2025, Project for Public Spaces’ Placemaking team will work with grantees to organize visioning sessions with their respective communities, before conceptualizing an activation plan, designing, construction, and programmatic implementation take place. Projects are expected to be completed by May 2026.
Click here to learn more about Community Placemaking Grants: Streets as Places & Destinations Stations.
Check back to see this space transform!
