What We Do
At Pomegranate Center, we integrate many disciplines. We combine design and art with community planning, public participation, environmental methods, hands-on learning and mentoring in an integrated process to help communities become more livable, sustainable, and socially engaged. We accomplish this work through the following programs.
Gathering Places
We work with communities to create gathering places—shared public spaces including parks, neighborhood focal points, community trails, and public artworks—that contribute to community distinction, vitality and social interaction. No one understands a community like its own residents. Therefore, we engage community members at every stage of development: from planning and design through construction.
Our Gathering Places program focuses on communities in greatest need of generative public spaces.
- Low-income urban, rural and migrant farmer communities
- High-density neighborhoods feeling the pressure of increasing development
- Cities and towns in search of greater sense of identity and cohesion.
Community-Based Planning
We facilitate public processes that foster civic connection and commitment; help communities identify and attain common goals; find positive, sustainable solutions to problems; and build long-term leadership capacity within communities to meet future needs.
Our community-based planning projects are typically collaborative efforts between government agencies, non-profit organizations, architects, landscape architects, artists, developers and community builders who are interested in constructive and inclusive public involvement processes.
Go to Community-Based Planning
Educational Outreach, Research and Training
We offer presentations, workshops, and special gatherings, as well as develop resources such as school curricula and handbooks for audiences including community leaders, public officials, planners, design professionals and youth. Through such activities, we share our philosophy and methods, foster awareness of our working models; and link with colleagues for mutual enrichment. Our goals are to stimulate community initiative, creativity, cooperation and leadership; and help neighborhoods, towns and cities plan for more livable, sustainable futures.