Placemaking Downtown Largo occurred on August 12, 2023 on McCormick Drive in Largo, Maryland and is the third pilot project in the placemaking series organized by the Prince George’s County Planning Department in partnership with Better Block. The Planning Department collaborated with the Largo Town Center Association and the Prince George’s Arts and Humanities Council to activate the vision of Prince George’s County Plan 2035 for Downtown Largo. Live music, play equipment, food, and vendors were part of the entertainment for the whole family.
Project Description
One of the County’s goals is to create walkable places that enable social interaction and reflect community character; preserve and promote our cultural, historic, and rural resources to celebrate our heritage; and encourage new investment.
The Planning Department is exploring the use of placemaking strategies to highlight the diverse and distinct neighborhoods in the County and promote local arts and culture that define Choice Communities. With the assistance of the Better Block Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization that specializes in reshaping and reactivating the built environment, the Planning Department will host placemaking events, focusing initially in three development centers designated by Plan 2035 – Suitland, Riverdale, and Largo. This pilot series prioritizes building partnerships with local community stakeholders, strengthening interagency collaboration, and learning from hands-on demonstrations. It is the goal that these efforts will play a key role in cultivating iconic destinations for people to live, work, play, and invest.
Suitland
Placemaking Suitland
On April 8–9, 2022, Prince George’s County Planning Department, Better Block, and Creative Suitland hosted a community block party in the vast parking lot at 4719 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland. We activated the parking lot with community volunteers, vendors, artists, performers, and other county agencies to demonstrate how creative placemaking can transform underutilized spaces into fun places for fellowship and artistic expression. View the Placemaking Suitland event video below!
Special Thanks
Special thanks to the partners and vendors who helped make the event successful!
Prince George’s County Park and Recreation Khadijah Jahmila Fine Art Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Delkis Collections Dior Ashley Brown and the Filthy Animals Natural Feels Awareness Soultarian Love9twenty Smokenlo BBQ Black Art Today Luv Plates JN Studio Art Funnel Cake King Shelly Hoops Remix Rage Smash Room (Propel Productions Center) Beyond Dazzled Vintage Thrivals by Rich Rocket Shea By Lee Monet PGFD Recruiter Plum Soul Studio 4DMV Kids We Adorn Wood
Suitland Placemaking Event 2022
The Prince George’s Planning Department, Creative Suitland, and the Better Block Foundation hosted a virtual kickoff on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, to share details about the placemaking initiative and ways that participants can help bring the event to life! See the video of the virtual kickoff event below.
Placemaking Suitland Kickoff Meeting January 19, 2022
Riverdale
Placemaking Riverdale
Placemaking Riverdale was held on July 14 and 15, 2023, in the Plaza del Alamo parking lot at 5550 Kenilworth Avenue, Riverdale Park, Maryland.
Placemaking Riverdale is another pilot project in the placemaking series organized by the Prince George’s County Planning Department in partnership with Better Block. The Planning Department is collaborating with Central Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization (CKAR) CDC to host a 2-day placemaking festival celebrating local arts and culture of the Greater Riverdale area.
The Planning Department, CKAR, and Better Block hosted a virtual kickoff on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, to share details about the placemaking initiative and invite participants to volunteer to help bring the event to life! If you want to volunteer, please email pgcplacemaking@ppd.mncppc.org.
Placemaking Riverdale Virtual Kickoff Meeting
Largo
Placemaking Downtown Largo
Placemaking Downtown Largo occurred on August 12, 2023 on McCormick Drive in Largo, Maryland, and is the third and final pilot project in the placemaking series organized by the Prince George’s County Planning Department in partnership with Better Block. The Planning Department collaborated with the Largo Town Center Association and the Prince George’s Arts and Humanities Council to activate the vision of Prince George’s County Plan 2035 for Downtown Largo. Live music, play equipment, food, and vendors were part of the entertainment for the whole family.
A virtual kickoff event was held on April 11, 2023 to provide an overview of the placemaking series and to discuss the goals and volunteer opportunities for the placemaking festival in August 2023. If you missed the kickoff, you can watch the recording below.
The team encouraged the community to use the survey linked below to inform the programming and site plan for the event.
Placemaking Largo Virtual Kickoff Meeting April 11, 2023
Background
Downtown Largo is one of the three downtowns designated by the County’s General Plan, Plan 2035. The downtowns are areas best positioned to develop—in the near term—into vibrant, walkable, regional-serving centers; each will have a robust economic and employment base, a distinct sense of place and identity, a varied housing stock, a multimodal transportation network, and diverse, mixed-income communities. Through placemaking and collaborative engagements, we can support our diverse and distinct communities and create vibrant places for everyone to enjoy.
Through Placemaking Largo, we will test the recommendations of the Downtown Largo Placemaking, Branding, and Wayfinding Strategy, which discusses engineering and artistic methods to enhance the sense of place in the Largo Town Center area. This strategy identifies locations for creative placemaking, one of which will be the location of the Placemaking Largo event
