Courses

SPRING, 2024 Certificate in Creative Placemaking Registration is now Open!!

Creative Placemaking is a process. For the application of its integrative principles to have sustained impact in the community, it requires leaders who have acquired the literacy necessary to understand the wide scope of the practice and the skills to facilitate the process.  Practitioners need to be prepared to expand their application, measure its efficacy and contribute to a growing body of knowledge, thereby supporting the advancement of the overall field of practice. 

At the NJIT Hub, we train students to be leaders for the field of practice through our critically acclaimed Professional Certificate in Creative Placemaking.  NJIT is the first university in the United States to provide this unique, comprehensive, in-class certification in the emerging field of practice. 

Graduates of the course have the knowledge and skills to leverage arts and cultural resources to lead inclusive transformation in municipalities--with impact on every aspect of community life, including economics, health, housing, revitalization, policies, and environment.

Participants in the course include municipal officials and leaders, county and local planners, community development leaders, real estate and development professionals, artists, land-use professionals, social service professionals, corporate community service facilitators, educators, administrators and more.

The Creative Placemaking Certification Course draws on the university’s robust resources in smart cities technologies, STEM, architecture and design, and management. The course is led by Suzanne Ishee, long-time professional artist, Creative Placemaking leader and Hub Director.  A host of outstanding guest faculty, lecturers, cross-sector leaders and former graduates provide expertise by sharing their relevant knowledge in regional planning, policymaking, arts, marketing and more.

Learn more about the Certificate in Creative Placemaking.

See the latest news features on some of our graduates at "Our Students in Action."     

Contact Us here to learn more.

• How long will the recovery take and what will our communities look like?
• How will the past inform the future?
• Are students ready with the skill sets to successfully and creatively navigate across sectors and collaborate to design place-based solutions for long-lasting positive impact?

MTSM is pleased to present a new special topics graduate course for students who wish to explore creative planning and developing solutions that are inclusive, efficient and sustainable.  One of the best ways to do this is through strategic alignment with creative placemaking-- a process where community members, artists, arts and cultural organizations, developers, and other stakeholders use arts and cultural strategies to implement community-led change. Creative Placemaking has emerged as a critical tool that has been proven to transform neighborhoods, towns and cities by improving economic conditions and building a capacity for residents to take ownership of their local communities.

According to Smart Growth America; “It is ideal when artists, culture bearers and designers work in collaboration with cross-sector partners to diagnose community issues and creatively customize a vision and goals to address these issues.”

During this course students will:

• be immersed in the history of social policy development and current issues that are at the core of public discourse;
• investigate and evaluate the impact of the process of intentionally infusing innovations in arts, culture and community-engaged design into economic development planning and management;
• build upon their existing knowledge and expertise in order to bring value to collaborative issue identification and community-engaged solutions building;
• examine the role of technology to enhance decision-making and implementation strategies; 
• develop indicators of improved quality of life, inclusive community engagement, sustainability and community economic well-being;
• research existing creative practices, technologies and tools and conduct analyses of their effectiveness toward inclusive community-engaged development and smart growth;
• develop indicators of improved quality of life, inclusive community engagement, sustainability and community economic well-being;

Examine innovation and analyze technology tools and creative mechanisms and their relationship to equity, inclusive economic growth and opportunity, sustainable place-based solutions-building and supporting meaning-making in the places people live, work and play.