There are countless design, policy, and organizing guides created by different organizations to help citizens navigate how to make lasting change in their neighborhoods. We created The People’s Design Library to bring these resources together in one place. If you know of, or have created, a great guide, you can submit a resource to the library! The more people contribute to the library, the better it will be. Topics covered by the guides posted so far include how to conduct effective community outreach, how to convert underused street parking spaces to a public amenity, and how to map existing neighborhood conditions using balloons and kites. New resources will be posted every two weeks. 

The People’s Design Library is the latest project of People Organizing Place (POP), the participatory city shaping initiative of nonprofit community design center buildingcommunityWORKSHOP. POP puts local stakeholders in collaboration with outside expertise to proactively shape their neighborhood’s future. Through POP, [bc] provides accessible tools, expertise and resources like The People’s Design Library to citizens.

Included in the [bc] publications collection is [bc] Project Guides, a new series of short publications that describe the what, how, and why of [bc]’s People Organizing Place planning tools - starting with Little Free Libraries/Libros Libres and Neighborhood Stories. These guides are a resource for municipalities, organizations, or individuals interested in doing a Libros Libre, Neighborhood Story, or other POP project in their own neighborhood.

For more info on the library or POP work in general, contact Lizzie MacWillie at lizzie@bcworkshop.org