What makes a place more than just a location on a map? How do we build community, on a campus, in a neighborhood, or within a small town, and rally people behind shared ideals that shape where we live and belong?

Maybe the real question is how we build “place” as the foundation for everything else: belonging, creativity, and care for the common good.

Two things matter most, I think—getting involved and getting creative.

I believe it begins with creating a shared vision and identity, one steeped in creativity and deeply rooted in place.

Across communities large and small, leaders continue to explore how to leverage public, private, and third-sector resources to make places that are livable, accessible, healthy, productive, and economically resilient. But sustaining strong places requires more than infrastructure or investment, it requires imagination. Art and creative processes help communities see themselves differently, build trust, and respond to change with innovation and empathy.

The Power of Collaboration and Shared Identity
In small communities, the strength of place isn’t found solely in geography, but in the connections between people—the social capital that ties neighbors together, fuels shared dreams, and transforms challenges into opportunities. Creative placemaking offers a powerful pathway for strengthening those bonds. At its core, creative placemaking is about connection and fostering networks that build capacity and strengthen the social fabric of a place. When people are involved in shaping their surroundings, they invest in its success. They care more deeply, collaborate more willingly, and engage more fully.

A large stone academic building with Gothic-style architecture stands on the left, featuring tall windows and arched entrances. A long enclosed stone bridge extends from the building across a roadway, connecting to another structure on the right. In the foreground, neatly trimmed red and green shrubs form geometric shapes within a landscaped garden. A wide grassy mall, scattered trees, cars parked along the road, and a bright blue sky with scattered clouds complete the scene. A text box in the lower-left corner notes that Torgersen Hall includes a stone bridge over Alumni Mall and contains about 2,700 tons of stone.
The Torgersen bridge, like many buildings on campus, is home to 2,700 tons of Hokie Stone, “Virginia Tech’s Stone of Tradition." Photo by University Relations, Virginia Tech

Through creative placemaking, art becomes both a process and a product, a visible manifestation of shared identity. We see it on campus in the physical environment as the buildings are adorned in Hokie Stone at every turn. It inspires us, connects us, and reminds us that the more people are involved in creating their place, the more they experience belonging.

“A strong sense of place has value. When residents feel a sense of attachment and belonging to each other and to where they live, they are invested in caring for it and shaping its future.” Goddeeris & Jacques in A creative placemaking wayfinding guide for local government managers

A costumed turkey mascot stands on a football field at night, arms spread wide. It wears an “Enter Sandman 25 Years” T-shirt with a stadium packed with cheering fans and bright stadium lights in the background.
Hokie Bird, VT’s beloved mascot celebrates the 25th anniversary of Enter Sandman by Metallica, a long-standing tradition engrained in Hokie Football. Photo by Virginia Tech


Community participation fuels place. It’s an ideal we live out daily at Virginia Tech through our motto Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) with opportunities to enrich the community through The Big Event or the collective energy felt when Enter Sandman blasts through the stadium. Success is found in mobilizing citizens, students, faculty, neighbors, and partners, to take part in shaping their communities and defining, together, what “home” means. Our connection to the community deepens when we show up, participate, and know how to contribute.

A group of smiling volunteers wearing matching white event T-shirts stand together outdoors on a grassy field, cheering and posing behind a small red wooden fence with an orange sign that reads “The Big Event.” They look enthusiastic and energetic, with trees, walkways, and campus buildings visible in the background.
Virginia Tech students celebrate during The Big Event, the university’s annual day of community service. Photo by VT News

Infusing communities with art creates vibrancy, builds relationships, and strengthens economies (that’s what we’re supposed to remember to say, right?). But it’s true - the intrinsic and instrumental benefits of building community through art make creative placemaking a dynamic approach to both community development and building pride in place.

Creative placemaking isn’t just a cultural movement; it’s a community development strategy. It’s a tool for vibrancy, sustainability, and growth, one that helps communities accelerate progress, maintain momentum, and recover from challenges.

A group of people stand on the lawn in front of a brick building, holding hands, as the sun shines through the trees.
Community members and descendants gather in a circle for a moment of reflection during the 2025 Juneteenth event at Reynolds Homestead, the former Rock Spring Plantation. Photo by Diane Deffenbaugh

The value of collaboration lies in its ability to build resilience. Whether it’s a creative project that shifts the narrative of a place or an initiative that rallies a community through collective grief or resurgence, art provides both the process and the space for healing and visioning.

When public and private entities invest in place, communities strengthen. When pride, purpose, and partnership align, places and people become limitless in their potential.

Sustaining Community Through Creativity
Wicked problems, “which include issues like climate change, healthcare access, and poverty, are characterized by their elusive, interconnected, and ever-evolving nature” continue to emerge, and as such the future of our places depend on our ability to collaborate across sectors and think creatively. This is a muscle that requires stretching and strengthening.

By leveraging artists as connectors and problem-solvers, communities can accelerate creative solutions and strengthen the social fabric that sustains them. Together, they demonstrate how communities can leverage creativity not only to revitalize spaces, but also to reimagine their futures.

Fostering belonging and ownership is key. When residents see themselves reflected in the story of their place, when they have opportunities to create, contribute, and connect, they build the kind of community that sustains itself through change.

A group of people participate in a workshop in a community-room setting. A large gray board on easels is covered with rows of handwritten notes and simple symbols. One woman in the foreground reaches up to place a paper on the board. Two facilitators stand to the right, one smiling and one gesturing toward a screen displaying text. Several participants sit and observe. The room has beige walls, folding chairs, and a projector screen.
Community Change Collaborative (CCC) members Beng Lipsey, Garland Mason, and Cathy Grimes facilitate the organization of group priorities in Patrick County (February 2019). Photo by Andy Morikawa

Building the Future of Place
The third sector, including nonprofits, cultural organizations, and community groups, forms the foundation of arts advocacy. These entities often act as bridges, aligning private resources and public investment around shared goals and innovatively driving the social aspects of a community.

The work of community development is ongoing, a living process of collaboration, experimentation, and care. By enhancing this process through creative placemaking, social capital expands, individuals are empowered, and communities are strengthened.

The Art of Building Together
In the end, building strong communities isn’t just about infrastructure or investment alone, it’s about people and creativity. The art of placemaking reminds us that belonging is something we make together, through shared stories, vision, and care. When we choose to show up, collaborate, and imagine boldly, we’re not just improving our surroundings, we’re shaping the future of place itself.

Written by Sarah Wray, the Community Engagement, Partnership & Program manager at Virginia Tech’s Reynolds Homestead and a graduate student in Urban & Regional Planning at Virginia Tech.