This Must Be: 9/15/25

September 15, 2025

This Must Be: The Update

I’m a few days into my grand tour of the northeast and so far, it’s been an absolute delight. I witnessed my oldest friend get married under falling leaves (cue many tears) and then drove through the Berkshires and across New York State to spend time with family and friends.

I’m taking the next week off but last week, I had the privilege of showing off Downtown Denver’s latest public space transformation, 16th Street, to friends and colleagues from Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Buenos Aires, and Barcelona.

It was a reminder of one of the things I love most about the placemaking community, the lack of gatekeeping. We all want the same thing — great public spaces — and most of us are willing to share knowledge, resources, and tools with anyone working towards our shared goal.

On that note, registration is now open for Made by All: Building a Career in Placemaking a live webinar hosted by Project for Public Spaces (PPS) and featuring yours truly. The suggested registration rate is $30, and PPS is offering a sliding scale so the event can be accessible to more people. Please pay what you can, and consider contributing more to cover the cost of those who can afford less.

Now, onto the jobs!

Carolyn

Jobs

Title: Urban Outdoors Program Manager
Organization: The Trustees of Reservations
Location: Boston, MA (Hybrid)
Salary: $60k - $70k

Title: Director, Production
Organization: South Coast Botanic Garden Foundation
Location: Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA
Salary: Starting at $5,720/month

Title: Program Assistant
Organization: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
Location: Sheffield, MA
Salary: $25 - $27/hour

Title: Project Manager, Community Dev. Projects, WNY
Organization: Empire State
Location: Buffalo, NY (Hybrid)
Salary: $62k - $65k

Title: Executive Director
Organization: South Shore Art Center
Location: Cohasset, MA
Salary: $120k

Title: HR Generalist/Culture Curator
Organization: Inspire Placemaking Collective
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $80k - $110k

Title: Commercial Revitalization Program Manager
Organization: Staten Island Business Outreach Center
Location: Staten Island, NY
Salary: $50k - $60k

Title: Program Manager, Poughkeepsie Board of Artistic Youth
Organization: The Art Effect
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Salary: $50k - $55k

Title: Program Manager Capital Projects (Trails, Wayfinding And Strategic Civil Projects)
Organization: City of Toronto
Location: Toronto, ON
Salary: $123.8k – $170k

Title: Social Worker, Africentric – Homelessness Addiction Recovery Treatment
Organization: Upstream Ottawa Mental Health Community Support
Location: Ottawa, ON
Salary: $71,660

Title: Chief Urban Designer
Organization: City of Calgary
Location: Calgary, AB
Salary: $156.5k - $195.6k

Title: Director General, Strategy, Public Affairs and Arts Engagement
Organization: Canada Council for the Arts
Location: Ottawa, ON (Hybrid)
Salary: $172.5k - $202.9k

Title: Program Officer
Organization: Levitt Foundation
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Hybrid)
Salary: $8,800 - $9,600/month

Title: Outreach and Training Coordinator
Organization: Georgia Department of Community Affairs
Location: Georgia (Various Locations)
Salary: $58k - $62k

Title: Community Development Specialist
Organization: City of Hawaiian Gardens
Location: Hawaiian Gardens, CA
Salary: $32.83 - $39.90/hour

Title: Main Street Associate Director
Organization: Believe in Bristol
Location: Bristol, TN/VA
Salary: $22 - $25/hour

Title: Events Manager
Organization: Downtown Partnership of Baltimore
Location: Baltimore, MD
Salary: $70k - $81k

Title: Community Development Specialist
Organization: Livingston County
Location: Geneseo, NY
Salary: $30 - $36/hour

Title: Main Street Manager
Organization: Sharon Community Development Corporation
Location: Sharon, PA
Salary: $55k - $65k

Title: Senior Manager of Placemaking and Activations
Organization: Downtown Long Beach Alliance
Location: Long Beach, CA
Salary: $75k - $90k

Title: Senior Project Coordinator, Public Space
Organization: City of Philadelphia
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Salary: $80k - $90k

Title: Homelessness Program Manager
Organization: City of Arvada
Location: Arvada, CO
Salary: $98k - $135k

Title: Community Liaison, Community Outreach
Organization: NYC Department of Small Business Services
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $44.5k – $54.1k

Title: Project Development Coordinator for FMCP
Organization: NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
Location: Queens, NY
Salary: $62.8k – $97.5k

Internships, Fellowships, Grants, & Calls

Fellowship: Community Development Fellowship
Organization: Hill Community Development Corporation
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Stipend: $2,000/month

RFP: RFP for Marketing and Tourism Promotion
Organization: Town of Ridgway
Location: Ridgway, CO
Budget: $60k

Call for Art: Sioux Falls SculptureWalk 2026
Organization: SculptureWalk Sioux Falls
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Budget: ($25 entry fee) $1500 honorarium + cash prize and opportunity to sell the winning piece to the City of Sioux Falls

Call for Art: Painted Mural
Organization: Port Authority of NY/NJ
Location: Newark, NJ (Artists must be a New Jersey resident living and/or based out of Newark, NJ)
Budget: $1,000 stipend for top 3 selections, $150k finalist budget

Call for Art: Courthouse Plaza Mural
Organization: City of Albemarle
Location: Albemarle, NC
Budget: ($30 entry fee) $500 stipend for top 3 finalists, $35k finalist budget

What I’m Reading (and watching)

Third Places Are Being Reimagined—and Welcoming Travelers in the Process by Laura Kiniry, Smithsonian Magazine
Street Signs Are Magic by Camille Muson, Culture Hire Substack
Montreal Makes People Feel Welcome With Safe Streets, Happy Places & Green Spaces, StreetFilms

Upcoming Events

International Downtown Association 71st Annual Conference & Marketplace
Panel: Taking Membership to the Next Level
Date: September 27 (next week!)
Time: 8:30 a.m.

This Must Be The Place is a bi-monthly newsletter sharing opportunities for placemaking professionals. Submit a listing or sponsor the newsletter.