Placemaking and implementation: Revisiting the performance principle

Using a survey of cities that participated in a statewide placemaking plan assistance program, this study contributes to the plan implementation literature in two ways. First, unlike most studies of plan implementation, this study evaluates the implementation of project plans. Second, departing from the largely conformance-based recent work on plan evaluation, the study expands the depth of our understanding of performance-based plan evaluation. The study finds that although survey respondents reported little concrete implementation progress, the plans had already been influential in changing conversations and priorities around placemaking. This study suggests that planners should expand their conceptualizations of how plans can impact communities.