This two day, hands-on workshop was held in the small village of Lincolnville Center and Belfast, Maine, a larger traditional New England downtown.

Why do so many planning initiatives fail? How do we move from understanding that "place is important" to implementing policy changes that build strong, vibrant communities?

Friends of Midcoast Maine, the Orton Family Foundation, The Project for Public Spaces and DreherDesign presented this innovative, cutting edge workshop that looked at the combination of place-making, code development, public engagement and new partnerships to set the stage for policy changes and building better communities.  A diverse menu of new tools for public engagement, place-making and policy changes including form based codes was presented and developed with workshop participants.

This  dynamic workshop included walking and outdoor field exercises.

Designed for planners, lay persons, downtown businesses and downtown organizations, chambers of commerce representatives, developers, property owners, realtors, planning students, designers, landscapers, historic preservationists and many others.