Home Sweet Neighborhood: Transforming Cities One Block at a Time

Home Sweet Neighborhood takes a look at the concept of placemaking, changing public and semi-private spaces to bring people together, and how it has been applied in different cities around the world. Author Michelle Mulder gives extra attention to placemaking in her home city of Victoria, British Columbia, but brings in examples from many other places.

Home Sweet Neighborhood is a cheerful book, full of stories of successful placemaking projects by children and adults. These successes include 12-year-old Adam Kaddo Marino who was able to bring bike riding back to his school in Saratoga Springs, New York. A group of adults in San Francisco started a movement to convert parking spots into mini-parks on a temporary or permanent basis. A mayor in Tirana, Albania, helped to change his city by painting buildings in bright colours. Each story is short, but each story shows the difference that one person of any age can make to their neighborhood and community.

Mulder uses the first chapter for a brief summary of how cities and city streets became less and less like a community where people knew their neighbors. The next two chapters are full of the stories of placemaking from around the world. At the end of the final chapter, the author gives suggestions on how readers can get started placemaking in their own community. The chapters are full of photos of placemaking which provide colourful examples of what is possible. Each chapter contains “Neighborhood Facts”, extra facts about cities and placemaking. Mulder has included stories and experiences of her own in “My Happy Place” sections through the book.

The resources list includes three books and multiple websites on topics from gardening to crafts to community libraries. These resources will provide a good base for those starting their own placemaking activities.

Home Sweet Neighborhood is a vibrant introduction to community building through the practice of placemaking and how much one person can accomplish through small activities. Readers will be inspired by the variety of ideas and the stories of success to start placemaking in their own neighborhood.