Exploring Placemaking: A Conversation with Oliver Clachko ’26

With a funded internship from the Office of Career Exploration and Development (CXD), Clachko interned with Placemaking US, a national nonprofit that works across the country with communities affected by "destructive urban planning and social inequities...including auto-oriented development, racist policies, and unequal investment," according to its website.

Under the guidance of the organization's national director, Ryan Smolar, Clachko was introduced to a wide range of urban topics and to leaders in the field. From helping plan key events like the Public Realm Roundtable, in New York, to leading a self-designed project on rural placemaking, Clachko's work spanned the breadth of placemaking.

While often associated with parks and plazas, placemaking extends across all realms of public spaces, including assets like trails, theaters and events spaces, public art, outdoor fitness equipment, and even bike shelters.

One of the central themes of Clachko's work was the collaborative nature of placemaking. "It isn't about outsiders coming in with solutions," he said, "but about working with local communities-whether real estate developers, local governments, or private companies-to shape spaces that meet the needs of the people."

This approach aims to build stronger social and economic capital by tailoring public spaces to the specific wants and needs of the community.

In the course of his internship, Clachko, who grew up in Westport, Connecticut, began to question the urban structures he had previously taken for granted. He criticized how cities often prioritize infrastructure that alienates residents from public spaces.

"A lot of cities tend to prioritize singular uses of public spaces rather than designing them for multi-functionality," he said. "For example, streets designed only for cars cut people off from their physical environment, weakening their connection to the city."

He deepening understanding of the topic this summer drew from his academic background at Bowdoin, where he has taken courses on the history and sociology of urban life, as well as figures like Jane Jacobs and William Whyte, whose work inspired the placemaking movement.

"All the technical knowledge I brought to the internship came directly from Bowdoin classes," he said. A class he took on the history of New York City with Associate Professor of Africana Studies and History Brian Purnell provided a foundation for understanding urban challenges. This historical knowledge, combined with urban studies classes on issues like housing, gentrification, and social networks, allowed him to approach his internship with a critical and informed perspective.

Drawing on conversations with small-town placemakers, Clachko created an online guide to assist individuals in rural areas that want to enhance their towns through well-designed public spaces. "I spent the last two weeks of the internship designing a project where I interviewed esteemed small-town placemakers and synthesized their experiences and advice into a guide for anyone looking to improve their towns," Clachko explained.

Clachko's work demonstrated that placemaking principles, often associated with urban areas, can be applied just as effectively to smaller towns. "Small towns and rural areas can sometimes benefit even more than urban places from placemaking. Community spaces are deeply important to small towns, but because of smaller governments and budgets, it can be harder to implement."

Reflecting on his internship, Clachko added, "I went in thinking placemaking was one specific area of urban studies, but I came out with knowledge of so many different fields and perspectives." He was particularly struck by the interdisciplinary nature of the work, which connected him with professionals from diverse backgrounds, including public transportation experts, road safety advocates, and street café organizers. This interdisciplinary aspect, he noted, opened his eyes to the many different routes one could take within urban planning and policy.

As the summer came to a close, Clachko admitted that while placemaking still fascinated him, his interests had broadened: "I hoped I would come out of this internship thinking, 'Placemaking is awesome, and I'm going to do this forever.' But what happened was even more valuable-I learned how placemaking fits into a much larger urban ecosystem, and that there are many paths I could take."

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