Academic and Australian practitioners’ perspectives on placemaking praxis

Abstract

Placemaking is a fluid term with various conceptualisations, but individuals’ understanding of the term may shape the impact of placemaking projects. This paper aimed to identify conceptualisations of placemaking from two perspectives, theory and practice in the Australian context, and develop an analytical framework for categorising placemaking understandings. Through a systematic literature review (SLR) of 77 articles, a set of four placemaking themes was developed. These themes were expanded through the coding of placemaking definitions from 26 Australian placemaking practitioners gathered through a survey, thus creating a Placemaking Understanding Framework (PUF). The PUF highlighted gaps and overlaps amongst academics and Australian practitioners, showcasing how academia tends to frame placemaking as a process producing relational outcomes (like place attachment, sense of belonging, and connection to nature), whereas Australian practitioners focused on both the relational and physical outcomes of placemaking. By illustrating the breadth of perspectives in placemaking, this study builds on the academia-industry nexus for future placemaking strategies.