The Art of Listening: How Creativity Helped Shape Petaluma River Park

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What if planning started with a poem instead of a survey? In Petaluma, California, that question became the foundation for Poets to Parkmakers, an arts-based planning initiative rethinking how the community could shape a public space. The initiative, led by the Petaluma River Park Foundation in partnership with Kimzin Creative and CMG Landscape Architecture, undertook a two-year community engagement process to create a concept plan for a 35-acre riverfront park. More than 5,000 residents participated.

Read more at the American Planning Association blog.

 

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Petaluma River Park

parks/public space

Petaluma River Park is a 35-acre public park – a rare piece of undeveloped waterfront land in the heart of downtown Petaluma. Serving a broad and diverse group of residents and visitors from Petaluma, Sonoma County, and the Bay Area at large, the new park creates a common space that connects people, art, and nature. The project takes a thoughtful approach to park-making – collaborating with historically excluded communities to design a space centered on equity, accessibility, and shared stewardship.