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Local leaders had an opportunity to get a few ideas and some pointers on how to make downtown areas a better place.

The Troy University IDEA Bank and the City of Troy presented, “Placemaking as an Economic Development Tool,” Wednesday. Placemaking is a process of creating places that people want to live, play, learn and work in. The IDEA Bank workshop gave local and area leaders some insight into the multi-faceted approach of planning, designing and management of public spaces that capitalize on the best aspects of a community in order to create a public space that pro-motes health, happiness and well being.

“We had representation from the City of Troy, Pike County Chamber of Commerce and representatives from surrounding counties coming together to build a stronger community,” Lynne George, IDEA Bank director said. “Troy University was also well represented. We brought a lot of people here today to brainstorm and share ideas.”

Nathan Norris, founder of City Building Partnership, based in Pike Road, lead the workshop. Norris previously served as CEO of the Lafayette (Louisiana) Downtown Development Authority. He co-wrote the Lafayette Downtown Code, which was one of the winners of the 11th annual Richard H. Driehaus Form-Based Code Award in 2019.

During the workshop, Norris covered how to incorporate placemaking into economic development and tourism strategies, zoning codes, retail, affordable housing and downtown revitalization.