Page 99 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2015

Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Ocean Springs are
good examples of the national Main Street concept of placemaking. Public spaces in these towns have a real sense of place. They are designed to attract and serve people, improve quality of life and be economically competitive.
Main Street Mississippi Executive Director Bob
Wilson recently made a presentation on placemaking
and community revitalization at a national conference
in Washington, D.C., and is a big cheerleader for this movement. “As Mississippi professionals deal with preserving historic buildings and assets to make our communities better, we all have more pride in our public spaces, including the streets, green spaces and everything around,” he said. “Several Coast cities are doing this creatively.”
His definition of placemaking is: planning, design and management of public spaces by asking who’s using them, what could be fun to do there, how can we make it a cooler place to be, where will people sit, and are there opportunities for vendors and food trucks?
“This is happening on a large scale in the United States,” he said. “For instance, millennials decide where they want to be, then they go there and find a job or start a business. These kinds of places attract young professionals and creative and technology savvy people. With placemaking you create a place people want to be; it’s not the traditional economic development of creating jobs first.”
Ocean Springs has long been a leader in creating public spaces where people want to be. “Our town is a destination as a result of our Main Street program and our recent recognition as a Great American Main Street,” said Margaret Miller, executive director of the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce-Main Street-Tourism Bureau. “It’s
a destination to live, to work and to visit, giving everyone and every business the opportunity to thrive economically and enjoy a quality of life the world is looking for now and in the next generation.”
In
the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina,
charrettes were held along the
Coast to plan creative ways of rebuilding. “It was wildly successful and we have done it for other places in the state,” Wilson said. “We’re very excited about it.”
Following Hurricane Katrina, Gulfport addressed the storm’s physical devastation and years of neglect by creating a public-private partnership project. A Facade Master Plan was created and implemented that was the largest facade program awarded in the nation’s history.
“$4.425 million was funded and overseen by the
Gulfport Main Street Association, and the result has been prodigious,” said Gulfport Main Street Director Laurie
J. Toups. “The vision was to give the historic downtown district a much needed facelift to attract potential investors. The Master Facade Grant has been the catalyst for ushering downtown Gulfport into a new Golden Age.”
The city’s streetscape program with expanded sidewalks at intersections, trees, accent plantings, ornamental lighting and street furniture have made Gulfport more welcoming.
Bay St. Louis and Ocean Springs have long been known as art communities. Biloxi is joining that list with the creation of a downtown arts district that’s attracting artists and visitors.
The addition of bike lanes in downtown Biloxi has also been a big improvement. Biloxi Main Street recently won the “Best Placemaking Award” from Mississippi Main Street for its Bike Biloxi Initiative.
With its art, array of shops and walkable downtown, Bay St. Louis was named one of the Coolest Small Towns in the Country by 10,000 voters in Budget Travel Magazine’s 2013 survey.
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