Led by Guillermo Bernal & Madeleine Spencer – The Place Institute
A two-day intensive training for Black and Latino leaders from Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) seeking to reclaim public space, build community power, and activate place-based economies through placemaking.
Entrepreneurs, organizers, artists, and community leaders working to transform their neighborhoods from within.
Practical tools for community-led placemaking.
Strategies to activate underused spaces through placemaking and care.
Mentorship and exchange with experienced Black and Latino practitioners.
A sustainability framework to maintain public space activations.
Duration:
2 full days
Language:
English and Spanish
Fee:
$25,000 USD
(Includes 8 hours of facilitation, 8 hours of follow-up support, training materials, and travel to any U.S. city. Local venue and materials not included.)
Guillermo Bernal is a global leader in placemaking with over a decade of experience transforming public spaces across Mexico and Latin America. As Founding Director of Fundación Placemaking México, he has led more than 500 projects, proving that love, sustainability, and participation can reshape communities. At The Place Institute, Guillermo drives regenerative, community-led impact worldwide, ensuring projects empower local voices and inspire lasting change. A Board Member of PlacemakingX, he forges strategic alliances to expand the global placemaking movement. He is also the director and producer of The Place Man (2024), a documentary honoring Fred Kent’s legacy.
Madeleine Spencer is a visionary leader dedicated to community development, placemaking, and cultural vibrancy. She is a co-founder and former six-year Co-Director of PlacemakingUS, a national network that fosters inclusive, thriving communities. At the height of the pandemic, she launched “The United Streets of America,” a community design accelerator addressing systemic inequities through “purple-lining” strategies. Madeleine’s work has set new standards for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the placemaking movement, positioning her as a catalyst for creative, community-driven transformation.
Luciana Renner is an Architect with a Master’s degree in Visual Arts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She pursued academic exchanges at Bauhaus Universität Weimar, Germany, and Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain. With expertise in urban programs and project management across national and Latin American contexts, her career has centered on public space initiatives. She is the Executive Director of Fundación Placemaking México.
Victoria Pennacchio is an urban planner who is passionate about placemaking and tactical urbanism as approaches to informing plans and designs that local communities will embrace. She has experience volunteering at Project for Public Spaces (PPS)’s "How to Create Successful Markets" training and excelling in placemaking/urban design courses both in New York City and London. She previously worked for the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and is currently the Placemaking Manager for the Downtown Alliance, a nonprofit that manages the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District (BID). In her current role, she activates the public realm with public art, performances, and other urban design interventions. On the Economic Development team, she seeks to increase foot traffic and revenue of local small businesses and to improve underutilized public spaces, making the neighborhood an appealing place for commercial tenants, residents, and visitors.
