Place-making as an attentive urban presence

Abstract

The article critically discusses place-making, which is currently gaining attention in various disciplines of science and practice. Place-making is a concept with great potential to rebuild a multidisciplinary language to better identify and respond to the challenges of sustainable urbanisation. After briefly discussing the shift that the concept is provoking in the social sciences, about design, as well as politics and activism, the author points out the risks inherent in it and shows how they can be transcended by inscribing in place-making senses relating to, among other things, the multi-species urban community, hybrid spaces, verticality and transborderity of the contemporary city. The conclusion is a manifesto that points to place-making as an everyday attitude, a common concern for cities as shared space.