The Power of 10

Excerpt from Project for Public Spaces via Adelaide City Councillor David Plumridge's notes, 28 September 2010

'The Power of 10 is a concept the organisation “Projects for Public Spaces” uses to highlight principles of the Placemaking Process.

The basic idea is that it’s not enough to have just one great place in a neighborhood—you need a number of them to create a truly lively neighborhood. And it’s not enough to have only one top-notch neighborhood in a city—you need to provide people all over town with close-to-home opportunities to take pleasure in public life. And then it’s not enough to have a single livable community in a region—you need a collection of interesting cities and towns to offer a high quality of life the wider area...

Any Great Place itself needs to offer at least 10 things to do or 10 reasons to be there. These could include a place to sit, playgrounds to enjoy, art to touch, music to hear, food to eat, history to experience, and people to meet. Ideally, some of these activities are unique to that spot and are interesting enough to keep people coming back. Local people who use the space most regularly are the best source of ideas for what uses will work best.

How many quality places are located in the City, and how are they connected? Are there other places that should be more meaningful but aren’t?

Answering these questions can help residents, businesses and stakeholders determine - both individually and collectively - where they need to focus their energies. The Power of 10 offers an easy framework that motivates stakeholders to revitalize urban life, and shows that by starting efforts at the smallest scale you can accomplish big things. The concept also provides people something tangible to strive for and helps them visualize how to make their community great.'