Book cover of How to Turn a Place Around: A Placemaking Handbook

Book description

How to Turn a Place Around is a user-friendly, common sense guide for everyone from community residents to mayors on how to create successful places. The ideas presented in this book reflect over 40 years of Project for Public Spaces experience helping people understand and improve their public spaces. The…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked How to Turn a Place Around as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I chose this book because it collects decades of wisdom and experience about urban design into an easy-to-read guide with lots of visual cues and tactile inspiration. The book shows off the work of community-driven placemaking that has been the practice of the Project for Public Spaces since the 1970s. The book’s “how to” section is organized around 11 principles which all emphasize that a well-designed community starts at the ground level by working directly with the community and using their knowledge and experience to guide the way forward.

If you love How to Turn a Place Around...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like How to Turn a Place Around?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 20 books like How to Turn a Place Around.

Browse books like How to Turn a Place Around

Book cover of Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time
Book cover of Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life
Book cover of Main Street: How a City's Heart Connects Us All

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,395

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like How to Turn a Place Around, you might also like...

In Bad Faith by Geoffrey Carter,

Book cover of In Bad Faith

Nelson West, a former Chicago homicide detective, is hired by wealthy heir Lionel Bing to discreetly help “fix” scandals and legal problems for his father’s wealthy friends.

Bing, a brilliant but troubled investigator, suffers from PTSD symptoms as a result of being kidnapped and witnessing the murder of his mother…

Your Sun Will Rise Again by Joseph Jean Baptiste Jolicoeur,

Book cover of Your Sun Will Rise Again: Poems of Hope and Survival

Your Sun Will Rise Again is a powerful collection of poetic reflections on hope, resilience, and the human spirit. Written with sincerity and depth, these poems speak directly to those navigating life’s challenges, offering comfort, clarity, and quiet strength in difficult moments.

Through simple yet profound language, the book reminds…

5 book lists we think you will like!