Main Campus Placemaking, University of Texas at San Antonio
Main Campus Placemaking, University of Texas at San Antonio
Phil Myrick is working with UTSA to bring new life to campus through a Campus Placemaking Initiative to create vibrant and social places on campus. The Initiative encompasses the planning and design of new gathering places on campus as well as ongoing organizational development to build capacity within UTSA to lead placemaking and programming into the future.
Active public spaces can bring many benefits to the UTSA community, including:
- Creating a memorable sense of place that deepens the student experience and the attachment students feel to their institution.
- Facilitating cross-disciplinary learning by providing “collision spaces” where serendipitous social interactions can happen.
- Giving purpose to built spaces. Placemaking becomes the operating system that ensures a campus hums with activity and engagement – it’s the software that puts the hardware to use.
- Bringing the whole community together. An active public realm encourages a natural mixing of all kinds of people. This creates an opportunity for students of all different background to socialize and diversify their friend groups, the opinions and beliefs they hear, and to learn from others.
The UTSA Campus Placemaking Initiative began in 2022, concluding its first year with the schematic design for new gathering areas aimed at revitalizing the underused western lawns on campus. Our approach is holistic, designing and programming spaces that promote friendships, collaborations, and provide a mental break from academic pressures, with a particular focus on combating loneliness.
In the initiative’s second year, I will assist UTSA in developing a dedicated team of Placemakers, drawing from departments such as capital projects, student affairs, and grounds maintenance. This team will gain expertise in programming and managing these spaces, paving the way for future projects. The goal is to build a UTSA team that continues with Campus Placemaking as an ongoing core capacity.
This initiative is modeled after the successful Campus Placemaking program we developed at Harvard University with the Project for Public Spaces.
See related links:
Phil Myrick is working with UTSA to bring new life to campus through a Campus Placemaking Initiative to create vibrant and social places on campus. The Initiative encompasses the planning and design of new gathering places on campus as well as ongoing organizational development to build capacity within UTSA to lead placemaking and programming into the future.
Active public spaces can bring many benefits to the UTSA community, including:
- Creating a memorable sense of place that deepens the student experience and the attachment students feel to their institution.
- Facilitating cross-disciplinary learning by providing “collision spaces” where serendipitous social interactions can happen.
- Giving purpose to built spaces. Placemaking becomes the operating system that ensures a campus hums with activity and engagement – it’s the software that puts the hardware to use.
- Bringing the whole community together. An active public realm encourages a natural mixing of all kinds of people. This creates an opportunity for students of all different background to socialize and diversify their friend groups, the opinions and beliefs they hear, and to learn from others.
The UTSA Campus Placemaking Initiative began in 2022, concluding its first year with the schematic design for new gathering areas aimed at revitalizing the underused western lawns on campus. Our approach is holistic, designing and programming spaces that promote friendships, collaborations, and provide a mental break from academic pressures, with a particular focus on combating loneliness.
In the initiative’s second year, I will assist UTSA in developing a dedicated team of Placemakers, drawing from departments such as capital projects, student affairs, and grounds maintenance. This team will gain expertise in programming and managing these spaces, paving the way for future projects. The goal is to build a UTSA team that continues with Campus Placemaking as an ongoing core capacity.
This initiative is modeled after the successful Campus Placemaking program we developed at Harvard University with the Project for Public Spaces.
See related links:
