Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design, and management of public spaces. Placemaking capitalizes on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that promote people's health, happiness, and well-being.

Placemaking is both a process and a philosophy that makes use of urban design principles. It can be either official and government-led, or community-driven grassroots tactical urbanism. Good placemaking makes use of underutilized space to enhance the urban experience at the pedestrian scale.