#28 Ryan Smolar about Utilising Improv For Placemaking

🌟 How can we use Improv to make Placemaking more authentic, effective, and unique?

🎙 In this episode of the Hopeless to Hotspot Podcast, we speak with Ryan Smolar, a dynamic leader wearing many hats, as the director of Thrive Asheville, the co-director of Long Beach Fresh, and the co-director of Placemaking US.

With his unique blend of expertise in community building, food systems, improv, and Placemaking, Ryan brings a lot of fascinating insights into creating places where people truly thrive. And he is such a passionate and funny guy!

✨ 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷 - 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 - 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰-𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 - 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Ryan reveals how breaking away from traditional structures can unlock new ways of connecting. One unforgettable example? When he transformed a conference room full of people from being seated, elbows crossed, and staring at each other... to being free, comfortable, and truly connected – all laying on the floor.

What you’ll learn:✔️ What the difference is between Placemaking the noun and Placemaking the verb✔️ How Placemaking has evolved over the years and contributes to major transitions like climate change✔️ What improv techniques we can use in Placemaking to foster spontaneity and genuine interactions✔️ How asking specific questions creates the most valued places

✨Listen to the podcast and discover all the surprising lessons improv offers for building more connected places. Enjoy!

Radiant greetings, Sandra 💃

👉 p.s. Because of Ryan's broad expertise, we recorded not only this podcast together, but also podcast #29 Ryan Smolar about Food Placemaking.