๐ How can we use Improv to make Placemaking more authentic, effective, and unique?
๐ In this episode of the Hopeless to Hotspot Podcast, we speak with Ryan Smolar, a dynamic leader wearing many hats, as the director of Thrive Asheville, the co-director of Long Beach Fresh, and the co-director of Placemaking US.
With his unique blend of expertise in community building, food systems, improv, and Placemaking, Ryan brings a lot of fascinating insights into creating places where people truly thrive. And he is such a passionate and funny guy!
โจ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท - ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ - ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ-๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง - ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.
Ryan reveals how breaking away from traditional structures can unlock new ways of connecting. One unforgettable example? When he transformed a conference room full of people from being seated, elbows crossed, and staring at each other... to being free, comfortable, and truly connected โ all laying on the floor.
What youโll learn:
โ๏ธ What the difference is between Placemaking the noun and Placemaking the verb
โ๏ธ How Placemaking has evolved over the years and contributes to major transitions like climate change
โ๏ธ What improv techniques we can use in Placemaking to foster spontaneity and genuine interactions
โ๏ธ How asking specific questions creates the most valued placesย
โจListen to the podcast and discover all the surprising lessons improv offers for building more connected places. Enjoy!
Radiant greetings,
Sandra
๐ย
๐ p.s. Because of Ryan's broad expertise, we recorded not only this podcast together, but also podcast #29 Ryan Smolar about Food Placemaking.
