People Make Places Matter

It’s kind of like the old conundrum: if a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a noise?  The implication is that sound waves lack meaning if there are no eardrums to reverberate in response.

In the same way, natural and man-made places exist in physical space. But they acquire meaning through human encounter.  Let me give you some examples.  

We talk about the “grandeur” of an old-growth forest, the description derived from the insignificance we feel standing beneath towering, ancient trees.  A medieval cathedral would simply be a cold stone, glass, and wood building without the choir that fills it with music and the visitors who find beauty and inspiration there.  A park is just grass and a jogging path is just smooth dirt without people enjoying them on a sunny day.  The presence of people brings shops and restaurants, schools and offices to life.  What’s a neighborhood without neighbors?  Or a drive-in diner without people driving in?

People make places matter.  That’s what PlaceProps® Analytics is all about.

We measure the human value of physical places.  We describe the interaction people have with the locations they pass or visit in their communities.  We believe a retail location shouldn’t be measured by square footage alone.  Its proximity to target customers – who frequently pass it at the right times of day and right days of the week, and who stop and spend time nearby – should increase its value for that retailer.  And cities need to develop their infrastructure in sync with their residents’ daily movements to those places that matter to them.

Our app, PlaceProps, allows its users to record places of importance to them by dropping “Props” with notes and photos on a map.

And the people who are the talent and energy behind PlaceProps Analytics, along with our customers who keep challenging us to think in new ways, make this place matter.

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Find us at: http://www.placeprops.com

PlaceProps Analytics publishes proprietary, GPS-based consumer movement data for commercial real estate site selection, out of home audience measurement, retail trade area definition, and urban planning.  Available online. 

© 2015 Avenace Incorporated.  All rights reserved.

® "PlaceProps" is a registered trademark of Avenace Incorporated, Seattle, WA.