The U.S. is in the grips of increased economic segregation, social isolation and distrust.

While these trends have grown, our gathering places, such as parks, libraries, trails, neighborhood main streets and community centers—the very places that could bring us together—have been overlooked and often suffer from disinvestment. Cities and towns are not strategically considering civic infrastructure as a portfolio of assets, but instead as liabilities on balance sheets. It is being operated in silos, disconnected, without a shared common purpose, nor a sense of its true collective potential. But what would a community look like that was putting every single one of its assets to work to connect people of all backgrounds, cultivate trust and resiliency? This is the question at the heart of Reimagining the Civic Commons.

Bridget Marquis invites practitioners from around the world to consider public space for a higher purpose as part of Cities for Everyone series with Gil Penalosa. This presentation focuses on the impact of a model that pairs a portfolio approach to civic assets with a commitment to outcomes that matter, with insights from nearly a decade of strategic investments on the ground.

Watch this video of the virtual session entitled The Power of the Commons: Public space for a higher purpose.