“Quality of life” is a phrase that often gets batted around during public discussions about what can make the Wilmington area a stronger player in the economic development game.

At the same time, a single word associated with “quality of life” is gaining more ground in similar circles nationwide: placemaking.

Applied to public space, placemaking is defined as “the deliberate shaping of an environment to facilitate social interaction and improve a community’s quality of life,” according to a report published last year by the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In the Cape Fear region, Riverwalk is a good example, said Clark Hipp, a Wilmington architect and member of the board of the Cape Fear Community Land Trust.

“People in the community have decided they want to make this a unique place, so they’re willing to invest in something like Riverwalk,” Hipp said.

Not only is Riverwalk unique, it’s also “an asset that the entire community can utilize,” Hipp said.
A boardwalk along the Cape Fear River, the Riverwalk is about a mile long, and will eventually extend to 1.75 miles, is funded by the city’s five-year infrastructure improvement plan, according to the City of Wilmington’s website.

Governments aren’t the only entities involved in local placemaking. The Cape Fear Community Land Trust develops and stewards affordable housing, community gardens, civic buildings, commercial spaces and other community assets.

When it comes to placemaking, “I think the key word is community,” Hipp said.

Placemaking can be driven by the community and/or developers, Hipp said, using some of downtown’s North Fourth Street revitalization efforts as an example.

“Because of some of the private development that took place in the early 2000s, the community began to embrace it, and that embracing by the community has spurred additional development,” he said. “It can be a symbiotic relationship, and I think the best solutions typically are symbiotic.”

Elsewhere in the city, residents and business owners on Castle Street in recent years have embarked on efforts to create another downtown-area destination. Business owners have established a shopping district known for antiques and art.

Michael Moore, owner of Michael Moore Antiques at 539 Castle St., helped create a weekend street-front flea market partly as a way to make use of the vacant lots across from his store. 

“I wanted to come up with some creative way of seeing something happen on it without someone spending a half million dollars to build on it,” said Moore, who owns two of the vacant lots. He would mow the vacant land and clean up the beer bottles and potato chip bags littering the ground, he said, but he felt something more appealing could be put there.

Moore enlisted the help of friends, and the Castle Street Flea was born. Though the flea market hit a snag when it was cited by the City of Wilmington this year because the market’s frequency wasn’t allowed under older rules, Moore said he expects that to change.

The planning commission has already approved a zoning change, which will allow the Castle Street Flea to operate about twice a month, and now it’s up to the city council to make a final decision.
“We’re pretty confident the city council is going to approve this,” Moore said.

A Wrightsville Beach example of placemaking that Hipp pointed out is The John Nesbitt Loop. Referred to by locals as just The Loop, the nearly 2.5-mile path follows North Lumina Drive, Salisbury Street and Causeway Drive is used daily by runners, walkers and pet owners. 

“People just embraced it as a place and made it their own,” Hipp said.