Inspiring Places
By Erik van ‘t Klooster

Over the next couple of weeks we will look at the concept of “Inspiring places”. Applying different perspectives, we aim to get a better grasp at how places can create experiences that stand out of the crowd. We hope you will come along with us on this journey even though the road might be a bit bumpy at the start.

The perspective in the blog post below draws upon psychological and sociological thought.

Everybody searches for “peak experiences” that spice up their life. However, just to “keep on trucking” each day, people need to perform numerous routine activities. For example: working, grocery shopping, taking care of the family and children. To make life interesting we need the right balance between routine activities, relaxing and peak experiences. Yes, this may sound cliché, but still it is something we all struggle with. In our fast moving (and sometimes stressful) lives it is at times difficult to reflect upon our own behavior and get a much needed “look from the outside in”.

Examples of “peak” experiences that are often brought to the table are important life events such as marriage, birth of a child, a daring sports activity or the attendance of a special event. When you start thinking about what ingredients make these experiences so special you can imagine that they could also be used to spice up other types of experiences. In the context of place branding and place making this results in the following question:

“How can owners of places (e.g. city, town, workplace, public space, university) provide their audiences with peak experiences?”

As a starting point we provide a list with contenders for these “peak experience” ingredients.

Interaction with “the Other”
Facilitating the interactions with a diverse group of people (gender, age, culture) enhances the insight of individuals. Such knowledge can help people to learn about themselves and find new creative solutions to organize their life in a more effective and efficient way.

Sense of accomplishment
Peak experiences are not only about the “non-ordinary” but are also about guiding people to get to the “next level”, even in seemingly mundane activities. Experiences that provide a sense of accomplishment are an inspiring motivator for future actions.

Facilitating environment
Make sure that a proper infrastructure is in place to get people out of their comfort zone or help them to get to the next level in one of their competencies. This can be achieved by simple things such as the availability of the right tools, the use of colors, or the general design of a particular meeting place (e.g. standing versus sitting, round versus square tables).

Balance familiar with unfamiliar
Should an inspiring place provide a complete contrast to the routines that a person is used to? Or should there be more of a balanced approach? For example, introducing people to “the Other” requires some kind of idea about the way people learn. Do you want people to learn by means of a highly disruptive event, with the risk of strong resistance among the participants? Or do you want people to learn more gradually, perhaps with the risk that they don’t achieve their full potential. Depending on the audience, place owners should learn how to play with these two pedagogical philosophies to achieve maximum results.

Of course you are welcome to give us your opinion about ingredients that contribute to “peak experiences”. More information on this topic can be found in the Placebrandz Circle. Please read `How to use this website´ and contact us in order to join.