Project Background

MAPC provided technical assistance to the Town of Natick to help with the development of a Natick Center Creative Placemaking Strategy.

The project included recommendations for new processes, tools, and strategies that the Town of Natick and Natick Center Associates can use to facilitate continued creative placemaking in Town Center. Building on recently completed and ongoing planning projects - including the Natick Cultural Asset Catalog Project (2015) and the Natick Center Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Plan (2016) - the final strategy will include a synthesis of information about Natick Center’s arts and cultural assets, as well as policy and programmatic recommendations to sustain the creative placemaking vision. The process will engage Natick residents, business owners, and town staff in co-developing a values-driven strategy for how public places and spaces in Natick Center can be activated through arts, culture, and design to promote cultural inclusion and accessibility in the Town Center.

This project is funded by a grant from MAPC’s Technical Assistance Program that was made possible with funding provided by the Barr Foundation. Additional funding is also provided by the American Planning Association (APA), Americans for the Arts (AFTA), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and in-kind support is provided by the Town of Natick and Natick Center Associates (NCA).

MAPC's Role

MAPC’s role includes advising on the formation of a Natick Center Creative Placemaking Advisory Group, general project management, meeting facilitation, curriculum development for and facilitation of customized creative placemaking workshops, developing and executing a creative placemaking demonstration, and preparing a five-year strategy for continued implementation.