The Vision is Yours 2026: Placemaking Placekeeping Conference

Discover the transformation of Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park from a place of segregation to a 500-acre memorial park for mental wellness and renewal. Learn how community engagement and honest storytelling are shaping this space into a place of healing, reflection, and connection.

Click here to access the slide presentation in Google Drive. 

This panel brings together community organizers, storytellers, wellness leaders, and data practitioners to explore how narrative functions as essential infrastructure in placemaking and placekeeping. Through examples like Wellness Walks, community engagement, and data storytelling, panelists will show how movement, memory, and lived experience shape belonging, influence policy, and sustain long-term community care.

Follow this link to access the session slides on Canva. 

This session will discuss youth led initiatives promoting active transportation as well as community engagement. This session will highlight the work of youth taking part in the Washington Area Bicyclist's Association's Vision Zero Youth Leadership Institute, a collaboration with the Maryland Highway Safety Office and University of Maryland's National Center for Smart Growth. This paid internship opportunity provides high school students living in Prince George's County the chance to make an impact through capstone projects and educate other youth on vulnerable road users in their communities. 

Please note that following the presentation, participants will take part in a short half mile walk to assess nearby public spaces and their importance to youth via an asset map activity. 

The Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail traverses a remnant of the former streetcar “Number 82” line that ran from the Treasury Building in Washington, DC to Laurel, Maryland. It was a central part of the small-town experience for the region of commuters, shoppers, and residents of Prince George's County just outside of the Capitol. Today, the trail connects College Park, Riverdale Park, and Hyattsville directly to the Anacostia River Trail network, a premier regional system of bicycle and pedestrian trails. Join trail planners, Gateway Arts District members, community leaders and more for a lively panel focused on the work of extending the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail into Gateway Arts District: how the trail came to be, the latest extension in Hyattsville, the value in linking Route 1 Corridor downtowns and commercial areas and where, physically and conceptually, the community wants this to go.

The University of Maryland Landscape Architecture students have been working with community organizations, local residents, government agencies and other important stakeholders to create public spaces that are sustainable, comfortable, inclusive and reflect diverse local needs. In this session, students will present how a community park and a school play and learning space can be transformed into regenerative and inclusive hubs.

INDELIBLE is an ongoing documentary series highlighting performing artists in the DMV and Baltimore areas. Through footage of powerful performances and intimate interviews, the audience gets a glimpse of how independent artists create and share their work from the studio to the stage, while uplifting and nurturing their various communities. The project is directed, filmed, produced and edited by Antonio Hernandez.

Following the screening, attendees will be invited to participate in a Q&A session moderated by NDC Executive Director Jennifer Goold. 

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. 

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.