Focusing on what connects people to community is one way to navigate the treacherous waters between gentrification and disinvestment.

Placemaking is not a design endeavor. Or a business proposition. Or a public health pursuit. Or an equity concern. Or an avenue for culture and the arts. It’s all of these things.

It seems everywhere I turn lately I stumble my way into a conversation on creative placemaking — people looking at the activation of public space as a way to further their personal and collective passions and pursuits. It’s heartening. I’m a firm...