Physical and Digital Placemaking in a Public Art Initiative in Camden, NJ

Abstract

The process of placemaking entails the use of physical and digital representations of place. An understudied element of these representations is how users’ agency and interaction with physical and digital placemaking contributes to sense of place within a community. This research uses A New View - Camden, New Jersey (ANV) public art initiative as a case study to analyze how digital representation of space contributes to sense of place among community members in an urban setting. ANV’s social media reach and coverage is triangulated with data from interviews and focus groups from the 2019-2021 project period. The digital interactions with public spaces evoked meaning to experiences and places in Camden, in turn influencing perceptions of the place and willingness of community members to engage. A New View’s digital representations not only created opportunities for wider outreach and longer lasting experiences of placemaking that contributed positively to community, but also contributed to understanding of placemaking in urban public spaces, particularly during the COVID-19 global pandemic.