You Can’t Design Belonging: Placemaking Beyond the Plan

Inspire hosted a panel featuring community activation specialists at the Georgia Planning Association’s Spring Conference in Duluth, Ga. 

Inspire Placemaking Collective’s Elena Oertel, AICP, brought together a group of community activation specialists in the metro Atlanta area to explore how intentional programming fosters connection in ways design alone cannot. 

An overflow crowd at the 2026 Georgia Planning Association Spring Conference on Tuesday, March 24, gathered for a powerful conversation about placemaking — not just as design discipline, but as an ongoing, human-centered practice rooted in participation, programming, and partnerships.

The panel featured Julie Pierre of Collaborative Real Estate and the Biltmore Innovation Center in Midtown Atlanta; Abbey Griffith of Clarity Fitness in Decatur; Emma O’Halloran of All the Tropes Bookstore in Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood; and Erik Bredfeldt, PhD, AICP of Inspire. Oertel kicked off the session with an interactive mapping activity that asked folks to mark their favorite third places (the spaces they go to outside of home and work). Here are some highlights from the conversation in Duluth:  

On Community & Belonging “Community doesn’t necessarily happen because you host something once,” said Julie Pierre. “It happens because you host it again.” At the Biltmore Innovation Center in Tech Square, Pierre has launched recurring programming like weekly Coffee Connect gatherings, a monthly Tech Square Game Day, and an annual Christmas Market in collaboration with the startup Pop-Up Spaces. “We really started to activate what was a dead space with regular cadence programming and drive the idea that people are allowed to be and belong in our space.”  

That emphasis on belonging shows up across a range of different types of spaces. At Clarity Fitness, Abbey Griffith is rethinking who fitness is for, and how it feels to participate. “We’re focused on connecting fitness to people who might not feel included or like the target client of the typical fitness industry,” she said. “If we can shift the conversation to be more about what we enjoy doing with movement — how we celebrate and take care of our bodies — that’s where we find sustainable, empowering movement.”  

At All the Tropes, Emma O’Halloran described nurturing their neighborhood while building relationships with the businesses around them. “We’re creating space for readers to connect with each other, not just the books. These are people who were strangers six months ago, and now they’re going on a weekend retreat together.” 

From a planning perspective, Erik Bredfeldt emphasized the broader challenge: “How do we create a place where the community can grow organically? And how can we make that happen with the tools of a planner?” Bredfeldt emphasized that planners can stimulate the activation of third places and facilitate the civic spirit of a community.  

On Design & Belonging (But Not Design Alone)

When Pierre’s team firm took over the Biltmore in early 2025, the nearly 300,000-square foot historic building was 70% vacant. She said the lobby actively discouraged interaction. “I sat in this empty lobby that had all sorts of psychological signals: don’t be here, don’t touch anything, don’t stay.” Locked doors, immobile furniture, and a lack of invitation had conditioned people to move through the space rather than inhabit it.  

Rather than start with major renovations, Pierre began observing people’s “desire paths.” Then she and her team introduced a simple but strategic intervention: a centrally located coffee machine. “We were forcing some lingering,” said Pierre, who witnessed more interaction, more conversation, and a dramatic increase in daily use.  

At Clarity, Griffith approached design with similar intentionality, focusing on how space feels rather than just how it functions. “A big open-concept gym can feel really overwhelming and intimidating,” she said. “We wanted people to feel like they have a cozy nook wherever they are.” From bright, welcoming entry points to spatial layouts encouraging movement and interaction, Clarity’s design reinforces its mission of inclusion, safety, and well-being.   

At All the Tropes, flexibility is key. “Because of the variety of events we do, we’ve had to make our space very flexible,” said O’Halloran. “Our podiums are on wheels so we can move them.” The bookstore regularly shifts from retail to event space, hosting author talks, book clubs, and community gatherings. Its walkable Kirkwood location also connects visitors to nearby businesses. 

Bredfeldt noted that planners often have to work within spaces that weren’t designed for flexibility, highlighting the importance of thinking how spaces can adapt over time. He pointed to Inspire’s recent work in North Carolina, allowing corner stores in primarily residential neighborhoods through unified development ordinance updates. This signifies a small shift that can create new opportunities for everyday activity and connection. “Yes, it is thinking through the components that make up the built environment, but it’s also thinking through the other pieces – the people, the programming, and the partnerships.” Together, that adaptability — both inside and out — shows that spaces that foster belonging aren’t fixed; they evolve with how people use them. 

On Planning and Placemaking

For planners, the conversation pointed to a shift in mindset: from designing places to enabling them in collaborative ways. Bredfeldt emphasized the importance of bridging planning and implementation. “As planners, we set up regulatory frameworks,” he said. “But those frameworks need to be implemented by folks that are not planners.” That reality puts greater emphasis on implementation as a key facet of the planning process. Planners must understand markets, remove barriers, and ensure that plans can actually be carried out by the people activating space on a day-to-day basis, said Bredfeldt. 

Oertel pointed to a practical lesson from lived experience: even well-designed downtowns can struggle without the right mix of activity and timing. In her hometown, it wasn’t until a brewery opened and drew people in after hours that other businesses began to follow. 

“Sometimes it’s about having a mix of daytime and nighttime activities,” she said. “A lot of that is thinking about your zoning code, but also helping from an economic development perspective with policies that can incentivize different types of businesses to come in.” 

“I think planners should figure out what’s happening organically,” Bredfeldt said, “and then try to replicate those things and make them easier to happen.” 

Thank you for taking the time to stay updated on what's happening at Inspire Placemaking Collective.  We look forward to seeing you in Augusta in the Fall!