EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLACEMAKING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY ON THE REO TOWN DISTRICT OF LANSING, MICHIGAN. By John Parcell A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Urban and Regional Planning - Master in Urban and Regional Planning 2016 ABSTRACT EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLACEMAKING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY ON THE REO TOWN DISTRICT OF LANSING, MICHIGAN. By John Parcell This thesis examines the relationship between the concept of Placemaking and levels of community engagement, focusing on the REO Town District of Lansing, Michigan as the case study. In order to begin the research a basis of existing knowledge was gathered on the concept of “place”, Placemaking, and their existing relationship. Using this theoretical base a two-part survey was created to distribute to a sample of residents and workers of the REO Town district asking questions about their community, interest in Placemaking, and general demographic information. The data gathered from these surveys was plotted on a scatter plot after each respondent was coded on a scale of negative seven to seven based on their responses to each section of the survey. The analysis of these charts, and this research overall, aims to understand if Placemaking can increase levels of community engagement or if high existing levels of community engagement can make implementing Placemaking projects easier. Copyright by JOHN PARCELL 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who has assisted me since I first began my journey here at Michigan State University. To all the professors I have had along the way, thank you for your guidance in this field that initially started out so foreign to me. Additionally, thank you to my cohort, who, while small, was as supportive and hard-working as any group could have been. Most importantly, thank you to my parents and family who pushed me and supported me throughout all of my personal and academic endeavors. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. vii Ch. 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................1 Ch. 2: Literature Review .........................................................................................................4 2.1 Place ...............................................................................................................................4 2.2 Applied Placemaking ..................................................................................................14 2.3 Community Engagement ............................................................................................16 2.4 The link between Civic Engagement and Placemaking...........................................21 Ch. 3: Methodology ................................................................................................................25 3.1 Preliminary Research .................................................................................................25 3.2 Identifying a Research Method..................................................................................26 3.3 Survey Creation ..........................................................................................................27 3.4 Data Collection and Analyzation ...............................................................................30 Ch. 4: Case Study of REO Town, Lansing ..........................................................................32 4.1 History ..........................................................................................................................32 4.2 Demographics and Geography ..................................................................................33 4.3 Current Initiatives ......................................................................................................36 4.4 Survey Results .............................................................................................................39 Ch. 5: Analysis ........................................................................................................................47 5.1 “Place” and Community.............................................................................................47 5.2 Gender ..........................................................................................................................50 5.3 Workers vs. Residents ................................................................................................52 5.4 Age ................................................................................................................................55 5.5 Final Thoughts ............................................................................................................57 Ch. 6: Conclusion ...................................................................................................................59 6.1 Future Studies .............................................................................................................59 6.2 Survey Conclusion ......................................................................................................60 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................63 Appendix A: Maps .................................................................................................................64 Appendix B: Survey Instrument...........................................................................................66 ENDNOTES............................................................................................................................73 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................81 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Types of Engagement and Activities .....................................................................17 Table 2: Demographic Information in REO Town, 2014 ...................................................35 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Place Diagram ................................................................................................14 Figure 2: Block Groups in REO Town ................................................................................34 Figure 3: Age ..........................................................................................................................39 Figure 4: Level of Education .................................................................................................39 Figure 5: Performance of the RTCA ....................................................................................41 Figure 6: Performance of Lansing’s local government ......................................................41 Figure 7: Word Cloud Representation of Survey Question 12 ..........................................44 Figure 8: How often do you attend events in REO Town? ................................................45 Figure 9: How often do you visit businesses in REO Town? .............................................45 Figure 10: Community Engagement vs. Placemaking........................................................49 Figure 11: Gender: Community Engagement vs. Placemaking ........................................51 Figure 12: Residents: Community Engagement vs. Placemaking .....................................53 Figure 13: Workers: Community Engagement vs. Placemaking ......................................54 Figure 14: Age Groups: Community Engagement vs. Placemaking .................................56 Figure 15: Street Map of the REO Town District ...............................................................64 Figure 16: Topographic Map of the REO Town District ...................................................65 Figure 17: Colored Map of the Greater Lansing Area .......................................................66 vii Ch. 1: Introduction Ever since Placemaking initiatives first became a popular method of building a “sense of place” the concept has gone hand in hand with community engagement. It is important for residents to be engaged in successful communities, otherwise there will be a lack of human activity in the public sphere. However, achieving high levels of community engagement can often times be a struggle for many communities, especially those that are economically struggling. The purpose of this study is to identify if existing levels of community engagement can lead to the successful implementation of Placemaking projects, or if Placemaking can be used as a method to help increase the levels of citizen engagement in a community. Ideally, in the future, this research can be used to help organizations find sites where Placemaking initiatives may be more successful and shape policy for non-profits or municipalities looking to create a strong sense of place. Placemaking is a planning and management approach for public places that involves what currently exists in a local community, including current assets and potential.1 This approach is often implemented with the intent of creating spaces that help to create a sense of place and promote healthy social