Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper Funds, FIFA Challenge & Positive ROI from Parks

Top opps and three easy wins for your district:

• Better Living Locally — Better Block University is searching for 15 individuals who’re passionate about improving their communities and have actionable ideas to implement. Select scholarships are available, and apps close Friday, June 12th at 11:59pm (CST), so git to gittin!

• Social Climbing — the University Circle district in Cleveland, Ohio is unlike any other we work with. An urban, pastoral park punctuated by dozens of museums, cultural institutions and Eds & Meds provides the Pinterest-perfect backdrop for your next role as their Content & Social Media Manager. Plus, your boss rocks. Apply today!

• Pecuniary Support for Placemaking — Need $5K for pop-ups, parks or all kinds of gardens? Check out Patronicity’s Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper Challenge Grants to pilot or test placemaking concepts. You can also run your own challenge grants locally to crowdfund placemaking initiatives. Get your pilot funded in 48 hours here.

Photo credit: by Adam Bouse on Unsplash

  Eleven of our nations largest cities are about to be put to the test by the predicted millions of international travellers lured stateside for FIFA 2026. What was initially estimated to be a world-changing sporting event hosted by North America, the numbers keep going sideways. International travel is down dramatically, hotel occupancy is so soft — some host cities are calling this summer’s spectacle a “non-event”), and host cities are grappling with rising costs of travel, transit and policing. But who knew? Well, we did. And we advised you months ago to pivot.

“The concern isn't just 2026. It's 2027, 2028, 2029.”

To quote our Trends Report from March, “The concern isn't just 2026. It's 2027, 2028, 2029,” — so there’s still time to turn an about-face, and rectify your destination attraction strategies. You’re gonna need them in the years to come. But the biggest concerns, according to Smart Cities Dive are your local constituents, and keeping them abreast of changes, commitments and shifting goals. Get your informative three-point primer on best practices for making sure you don’t break public trust in the process.

Photo credit: by Fauzan Saari on Unsplash

  … that parks return $3 in economic benefit for every $1 invested? That’s some fat ROI, and when it comes to urban greenery, shade, mental health and climate mitigation — parks punch above their weight for municipalities. The Trust for Public Land recently published its annual ParkScore index that ranks the 100 most populous U.S. cities' park systems relative to one another based on five categories: access, acreage, amenities, equity and investment. TPL president and CEO Carrie Besnette Hauser noted that, "For all of us that love parks and know parks and know green space, and how important it is to health and mental health and kids and all those things, it is concerning to us, and it's counter to public sentiment around parks and green space," when discussing the recent dearth of federal funds available to the nation’s greenspaces. Check out this year's winners (and losers) to see how well your city fared on TPL’s Top 100 ranking.

Photo credit: by Alena Kalash on Unsplash

  In the true spirit of global fandom, our friends and partners over at LeMonde Studio designed a placemaking installation headed to The Bentway —a new public space underneath the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, that provides a year-round program of events and activities. LeMonde’s inventive installation is a series of illuminated international flags that respond to human touch. You can see the flags in action on Chicago’s acclaimed Mag Mile here on Insta. One of the things we  ❤️ about LeMonde is their intentionality when it comes to metrics and measurement. While many places struggle to quantify the impacts of placemaking, LeMonde’s installations frequently generate metrics based on use, dwell time and other KPIs that make it easy to tell the story of your placemaking success. Check out their vast portfolio of engaging installations and let them know Bright Brothers sent ya!

Photo by LeMonde Studio on Instagram

We wrote above about the impact of parks — and nature is a common denominator that most of us can embrace without political pushback or public outcry. We’re big proponents of balancing your cultural assets, shopping, dining and district amenities — with outdoor recreation. It’s one of the secret keys to success for destinations. So it’s no surprise that this week, we’re celebrating the U.K. — and in particular, we’re ponying up these nature-based festivals as points of inspiration for your next big placemaking activation. Take it from us — when you nurture nature as part of your narrative, the economics alone are proof positive to make the case to get outdoors and soak up some ever-lovin’ Mother Nature this summer!

Photo credit: by Casey Horner on Unsplash

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“Parks are 'places of real joy'," — Carrie Besnette Hauser, President & CEO, Trust for Public Land