The Cabot Foundation for Arts & Culture (CFAC) is excited to lead a Placemaking Roadmap for Cabot.
Placemaking is a people centered approach to building strong, vibrant communities. But, why do we need a strong, vibrant community?
As the new economy grows, younger generations (talent) leave the rural towns where they grew up to head toward communities that offer quality of place – which simply means the city has more to offer than just employment.
Cabot is blessed to have a top school district, but we are graduating our talent and sending them to more “fun” places. We need to make Cabot attractive as a place to live, work, and play. Which is where placemaking comes in.
Placemaking begins with gathering citizens and asking them how Cabot can better support them – what amenities would make it easier to work, what restaurants and retail would keep them in town on the weekends, how can we encourage artists, entrepreneurs, and business owners? What does Cabot want?
We’ll also tour the town and analyze the empty buildings (no lack of those, right). We’ll ask what would work well here? What can Cabot support?
Then we’ll marry what Cabot wants with what Cabot supports to get Cabot’s Places. Taking it a step further we’ll create step-by-step implementation plans for each place. Finally, we’ll work to get each of those places up and running and attracting new and familiar faces to Cabot.
Art is essential to thriving communities, and Cabot is seriously lacking in public art. Let’s change that with a Public Art Plan. Identifying where public art displays would work best, what types of art should be displayed, and choosing and funding the artists, we’ll make Cabot a destination for tourists from all over the state.
Finally, let’s make our streets work for more than just cars. Let’s get out and walk, run, and ride our bikes.
I’ll end with this quote from the Artplace America website:
“If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places.”
Let’s plan Cabot for people and places.
