Binghamton Chamber’s Placemaking Office aims to improve region’s vibrancy

BINGHAMTON — The Office of Placemaking in the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce has been in operation for a few months and continues working to get itself established.

Placemaking involves a hands-on approach to improve areas within a community utilizing physical, cultural, social, and other assets to create opportunities to bring people together, the chamber says. The goal is for the office and its director to “support existing initiatives and create new activities to make a more attractive and cohesive community.” 

Placemaking is an effort to “improve the vibrancy of an area,” says Jim Reyen, director of placemaking initiatives at the Greater Binghamton Chamber. It focuses on public spaces like parks, streets, use of historic spaces or green spaces, and getting the community involved.

“You get community input and have them be engaged. You work with the community and have them as part of the process,” he says. “It’s not directly event planning because you’re bringing the community into the process and utilizing public spaces and making it more vibrant.” Reyen spoke with CNYBJ on May 10. The operations of his offices started in January after the chamber first announced it last October.

The Office of Placemaking has been involved in a holiday-tree lighting in downtown Binghamton back in November with music and refreshments. The office also participated in the Binghamton Better Cities Film Festival, which included films about cities similar in size to the Binghamton area and what they’ve done with placemaking concepts. 

It was also involved in the Greater Binghamton Bridge Run on May 7, and is planning some upcoming live-music events.

“We’re in the process of establishing the office, getting input, doing some test pop-ups and letting the community know that we want to work with them to make this a better place,” Reyen says. 

“We wanted to create the Placemaking office to serve as a catalyst for improving public spaces to create opportunities to gather, connect and beautify the Greater Binghamton area,” Stacey Duncan, CEO of the Leadership Alliance, a partnership between the Greater Binghamton Chamber and The Agency, said when the office was announced last October. “We’re looking forward to engaging and inviting the community to become part of the process.”

The Leadership Alliance hosted an inaugural creative placemaking workshop with Kady Yellow on Oct. 25. Yellow is a Binghamton native and currently the senior director of placemaking and events for Downtown Vision, Inc., the business-improvement district in Jacksonville, Florida. She has served in similar roles in Flint, Michigan and Anchorage, Alaska. Yellow has taught the principles of creative placemaking across the country.