Front Porch is a place to celebrate, gather and have fun and also to be civically engaged as it connects our private spaces to public spaces. Not only porches but all the shared spaces of a house and its close vicinity acts as a frontier between a private home and public spaces of neighbourhood like balcony, stoop, driveway, footpath, front lawn, street, empty plot etc. These spaces and interactions remind us of being part of a human community which is a major element of placemaking. These interactions within community through shared spaces together form street life.
A vital ingredient for resilient communities is social connection and its importance has been well realised in pandemic year of 2020. Recovering from the pandemic year and the social dilemma around it, requires more of gratitude, social ties and community’s well-being projects because resiliency roots lies within communities. Also, sustainability of our communities and well-being of people in terms of economic, social and environmental values are based on how empowered, resilient and connected our communities and its people are.
At its core, Community-led Placemaking is about connecting communities through small scale, tactical projects. COVID-19 and physical distancing measures has redefined how we use our neighbourhoods and public spaces and have prompted us to rethink how we would traditionally come together during challenging times. Hence in 2020, as a response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Porch Placemaking Week was launched. The Porch Placemaking initiative is about helping us connect as a global community during this time of physical distance, particularly whilst many countries continue to feel the significant impacts of the pandemic.
Porch Placemaking is about taking action and bringing people together (from a safe distance) by activating your front porch (or balcony, front yard, stoop or driveway) between September 27th and October 3rd. Simply put, the project is about connecting with neighbours through small scale, tactical projects.
There are a number of ways to join the movement:
● Become a champion: get your street or apartment building involved.
● Add your project: put your porch on the placemaking map and inspire others by sharing your project in our Facebook group.
Jump over to the resources page to download some hints, tips and tricks to get you started and to have a look at some of the case studies from last year. We look forward to having you part of the movement and growing together!
The Team Peacemakers Pakistani is excited to be a Porch Placemaking Week supporter. We were amazed by the success of this movement last year with 202 projects recorded in 23 countries and 30 partner organisations. And thus, we decided to be a part of this movement this year as well. Therefore, we request you all to participate and share your projects with all globally and don’t forget to tag @porchplacemaking when sharing via Facebook and use the hashtag #porchplacemaking. And if you have any ideas and need any help to execute your plan, feel free to contact us Peacemakers Pakistani (if you live in Pakistan), we will help you bring your idea into reality, InshaAllah.
Lastly, do check out our small effort on documenting & appreciating people who have been utilising their front porches, vacant plots, even homes and shared spaces for community's well-being projects for past few years and didn't stop during the pandemic as well. We are proud of our citizens for doing such efforts however small or big, in their personal and shared spaces as a step for reviving community’s life and also playing a role in an individual’s better development and growth, and inspiring us all collectively.
Looking forward to your feedback and Porch Placemaking Projects! Stay Well People!
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