Place is an ever-changing artifact of cultural meaning and identity, actively created by human interaction. Place-making, then, is how we come to ascribe attachments and meaning to a geographical location. Urban planning and the creative arts have utilized place-making as an intentional practice to create community. When joined with sustainability, place-making can become an avenue to strengthen the connections between the cultural and ecological richness of communities, encouraging decisions and actions that support the flourishing of both the human and natural worlds.

The speaker series Place-making and Sustainability invited the campus community to engage in conversation about place-making and how to distill global lessons for fostering a cultural and ecological connection to place at Bucknell. Speakers responded to prompts, and Place Studies director Shaunna Barnhart summarized the responses; video recordings of two events are also available. The archived website about the series is managed by Special Collections, and advertising materials may also be accessed.