The Vision is Yours 2026: Placemaking Placekeeping Conference

This workshop has been canceled. We’ll share details after the event on how to sign up for Jay’s virtual office hours session.

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Based on Jay Pitter's Public Joy Framework, which positions public joy as civic, cultural, and spatial infrastructure, this introductory workshop exposes participants to key elements of a public joy mapping and analysis methodology. Participants will engage in a guided, participatory mapping exercise exploring how people, places, policies, practices, and everyday rituals contribute to or constrain public joy. Insights will be synthesized in real time, using participants’ own examples to surface patterns, gaps, and opportunities. The session is designed to offer a high-level understanding of how public joy can be assessed in practice, while introducing select components of the broader methodology. Participants will gain insight into how aspects of the mapping approach can be applied within their own contexts, with appropriate attribution, and how to begin interpreting findings through structural lenses such as policy, resources, governance, and place-based narratives.

This session tells the story of how The Berlin Farmers Market turned quiet Sundays into the busiest day of the week. Panelists will discuss why a farmers market energizes downtown and creates a welcoming space that draws people in. Attendees will gain practical tools to create a farmers’ market that activates downtown and strengthens local identity.

This panel will showcase local leaders and designers championing and implementing stormwater and climate resilience projects in their communities.

Panelists will explore the intersection of stormwater management and placemaking and discuss ideas surrounding implementation, funding, community involvement, incorporating art and more. 

Explore how a grassroots community garden became a catalyst for broader civic engagement and neighborhood transformation in a small rural community. Through creative partnerships, resident-led ideas, and strategic use of limited resources, a simple space grew into a catalyst for connection, pride, and momentum. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas, tools, and adaptable strategies for doing meaningful placemaking work at any scale — regardless of budget size!

Video storytelling can make a powerful difference for community placemaking organizations by building trust, visibility, and engagement. This hands-on workshop shares practical, accessible tips for capturing and editing meaningful story moments using low-cost tools like smartphones. After a brief grounding in trauma-informed and ethical storytelling, participants break into small groups to practice simple filming and interviewing techniques. 

This panel brings together designers, public agencies, wellness practitioners, and emerging professionals to explore how community health and wellness can be intentionally embedded into placemaking. Through three case studies spanning campus wellbeing initiatives, disability- and neurodiversity-centered design, and nature-based wellness programming, panelists share practical strategies for moving beyond aspirational language to real, inclusive outcomes. The session emphasizes replicable approaches for designing, resourcing, and sustaining public spaces that support mental health, access, and belonging.

An interactive workshop that explores how food systems function as critical community infrastructure -- beyond farmers markets. Grounded in real-world examples, participants engage in hands-on activities to understand how food, land, and culture intersect to shape neighborhood identity, economic opportunity, and community-led development.

Join Nature Center Director Serenella Linares and Ana Ka'ahanui for a guided tour and immersive forest bathing experience at the Mount Rainier Nature Center. While slowing down and tuning into the landscape, you’ll take part in the City Nature Challenge by documenting plants and wildlife on-site, adding your observations to the iNaturalist database and supporting community-powered science.

For an in-depth iNaturalist training, consider joining the Mount Rainier Nature Center for a virtual learning session on Tuesday, April 14th from 7-8:30 PM. Register here! 

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You can check out the Mount Rainier Nature Center iNaturalist Database here! 

Grounded in the role the Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) plays as a connector and facilitator between local communities and the agencies, organizations, and partners they work with, this workshop will demonstrate practical approaches to mapping power and identifying resource gaps. Using a three-year AmeriCorps VISTA research project as a model, participants will learn about the methods used to investigate access, influence, and collaboration across community networks. The session will include an interactive component that invites participants to apply strategies for building partnerships and identifying potential collaborators in real time.