Where Next?

This epilogue summarizes the agenda for a placemaking initiative guided by scientific inquiry. It reviews a number of the theoretical perspectives, suggests areas that are rich for future investigation, and calls for planners and scientists to work together to make places a central part of the agenda for positively shaping the future health of communities. Indeed, there are several avenues by which scientists at local universities and think tanks can partner with planners when it is time to redesign places and set up a framework for figuring out what works, what does not, and what shows promise. Researchers working in the field with community groups and practicing planners can generate ideas about the design of communities, scientifically evaluate those ideas, and then see which ideas can be expanded to benefit entire communities. Ultimately, once people become more aware of the impact that their surroundings are having on their health, safety, and well-being, they will clamor for more; they will ask for better-designed and more precisely conceived places. Thus, the way people change the elements of places should rely on the scientific process to best fulfill the ultimate promise of providing future humankind with healthy places to live.