Placemaking, local community and tourism

Abstract

The challenges of modern tourism development increasingly indicate the need for new approaches based on the creative use of intangible assets and heritage, and a more harmonious relationship between the local community and tourists. Placemaking is one such approach, which goes to the core of what builds places and local communities. This paper looks at the evolution of the concept, and its approaches and definitions. Among the tools of placemaking, tangible (physical design), intangible (mental images), and mixed approaches are recognized. The examples in this paper have been selected mainly from tourism and community development studies. Quality placemaking leads to the development of a sense of place, increases social cohesion, and stimulates the long-term regeneration of public spaces, which contributes to tourism attractiveness. In this light, the concept of placemaking can serve as a useful analytical category for more systematic research on spatial transformations and as a development tool in strategic tourism planning.