Frequently Asked Questions

There are a variety of potential funding sources for placemaking projects. Your neighborhood/homeowner’s association is a good place to start. If that doesn’t work, you might want to check out the criteria for getting a “Placemaking Grant” or a “Neighborhood Matching Grant” from the City of Charlotte. There are also plenty of private/nonprofit organizations that you might approach with a funding request. See “Funding Opportunities” in the guidebook for more information.

No. Bringing people together in public space is a primary goal of the city’s placemaking program. This is true for the design, installation and eventual enjoyment of your project. The placemaking process is intended to be collaborative, involving your neighbors at several points along the way, including the installation of the project. We want to make sure the people who live and work near your project know about and support it!

All placemaking projects located in (and sometimes near) the street will require some kind of traffic control to keep you and your neighborhood volunteers safe during installation. City staff will help you understand what is required for this. Most placemaking projects can be accomplished as part of a neighborhood block party. Find out how to request closure of a street or intersection for a block party on the city's special event permit page.

If your placemaking project covers more than a single block or intersection, then you may need to apply for a special event permit instead.

Keep in mind, on busier streets (thoroughfares) and at signalized intersections you may be required to hire an off-duty police officer(s) to provide traffic control during the installation of your project. That can create additional expense for the applicant.

No, although it is recommended to ensure a high-quality finished product. Even if a professional is not involved, the same information regarding who will be doing the work and the proposed design is required.

The Charlotte Urban Design Center launched the creative pool program as a pre-approval process to match local creatives, on a rolling basis, with placemaking project opportunities throughout Charlotte. Creatives selected from the pool may be commissioned to produce original works that range in scale and scope and/or collaborate with the city to provide design or management services for art elements. When creative services are needed, community members can directly select an artist or can share the opportunity with the artist pool to gather interested artists.

Learn more about the city's creative pool.

The maintenance and repair of all placemaking projects is the responsibility of the applicant per the completed placemaking permit between the applicant and the city. The applicant is responsible for all ongoing maintenance, including touch-ups, graffiti removal, and repainting repair due to street maintenance or utility cuts. The applicant will bear the cost of all maintenance, repair and removal. Placemaking projects that are left unmaintained or in disrepair may be removed by the city in the city's sole discretion.

Any sort of placemaking installation in the city right-of-way or on city property becomes city property. The city has the absolute right to change, modify, destroy, remove, relocate, move, replace, transport or restore any placemaking installation located within the city right-of-way in whole or in part, in the city's sole discretion. The maintenance and repair of the placemaking project is the responsibility of the applicant per the placemaking permit between the applicant and the city.

Great! Contact the Urban Design Center to let us know what you're thinking. We know that sometimes creative placemaking ideas might not fit into the categories described in the placemaking toolbox. If there's a way we can do it, we'd love to help you get a placemaking permit and make your idea a reality.