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Thank you for taking the time to respond to this survey! Montgomery Planning wants to help small business owners find creative ways to improve their presence on the street. Your answers to the following questions will help inform Montgomery Planning’s approach to placemaking resources and outreach. This questionnaire should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

The Montgomery County Planning Department defines placemaking as the act of improving a common space to make it more welcoming and attractive, so it better serves the needs of the people who use it.

Placemaking projects can range from temporary to permanent and include approaches such as sidewalk chalk art, café style seating and string lights, murals, or planters all the way to significant transformations of parking lots into community events.

Learn more about Montgomery Planning’s approach to placemaking.

Examples of what placemaking can look like:
Collage with two examples of signage pointing to activity areas, 4 photos with examples of outdoor seating areas in streets
Examples of placemaking in Montgomery County:
Parking spots turned into cafe-style seating in the Shoppes of Olney Shopping Center, Temporary closing of Price Avenue for seating in Wheaton, Pedestrian-only Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring with tables, seating and street art, Mural on a local business in Wheaton
Sometimes these elements require permits from various Montgomery County government agencies. Examples of placemaking permits that exist in Montgomery County, issued by the Department of Permitting Services (DPS), include:

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* What is the ZIP code where you operate your business?

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* Which best describes you?

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* How familiar with the concept of placemaking would you consider yourself?

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* Based on your own knowledge of placemaking and the context provided above, how interested are you in implementing it in some form at or around your business?

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* Please rank the examples below by what would be most interesting or beneficial to you and your business (rank from most to least).

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* Are there any other elements missing from the above list that could help you market your business better?

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* Do you own or lease the commercial space that you operate in?

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* If you do not own the property, do you think you would be able to secure the property owner’s permission to apply for a placemaking-related permit?

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* Have you tried to implement any form of placemaking into the area around your business?

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* If yes to the question above, we welcome any feedback about the process to implementation.

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* Would you know which County agency to contact and which permits you would need for the placemaking project you are interested in?

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* What challenges exist that make implementing placemaking around your business difficult? (Select all that apply)

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* What tools or resources would be most helpful for Montgomery Planning to help you implement or consider placemaking?

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* Please share any other questions or comments you have about placemaking in Montgomery County that would help us better understand the barriers to participation.

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* Would you be open to continuing the conversation about placemaking with Montgomery Planning staff? If so, please share your name and email and we will get in touch!

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