Placemaker Week ASEAN 2025

What is Placemaker Week ASEAN 2025?

Placemaking was pioneered by William Whyte and Jane Jacobs in the 1960s, and since then, its narrative has mostly been centred in developed countries until now. The first placemaking conference in Southeast Asia was produced in 2019, it is the first gathering of its kind in Asia with 500+ participants and speakers from all over the world. Placemaker Week Asean returns for its second edition in 2025, bringing together placemakers, professionals, public officials, and communities for a week-long celebration of ideas and inspiration. 

Unlike traditional conferences, PWA2025 is an inclusive, hands-on and community-driven, combining inspiring keynotes, knowledge-sharing sessions, and interactive workshops with real-world urban interventions.

Beyond gaining insights from placemaking experts, participants actively contribute to the host city by co-creating solutions for targeted urban spaces. Attendees and speakers have the opportunity to collaborate with our charity partner, Dignity for Children Foundation, to address real challenges in the surrounding neighbourhood—making the area safer and more welcoming for students from preschool to secondary school. Through hands-on collaboration, cities gain fresh ideas, and participants build lasting, meaningful connections with a community of like-minded changemakers.

PWA2025 celebrates placemaking as a powerful tool to build better cities — inclusive, people-centered, and vibrant. It fosters cross-sector partnerships and empowers local action, making it a platform where innovation meets impact. Whether you’re policy makers or just a layman, this is where bold ideas and collaborative spirit come together to reimagine the future of urban spaces.

Theme

Places that Have Value for People

Subthemes

1. Climate and Cities

ASEAN cities are increasingly vulnerable to rising temperatures, flooding, and other climate related threats. Placemaking offers practical, community-driven solutions by promoting climate-responsive design, integrating green infrastructure, and embracing nature-based strategies. This theme highlights how urban communities across Southeast Asia can foster resilience and environmental stewardship, transforming public spaces into essential assets for climate adaptation and collective action.

2. The ROI of Placemaking

In the ASEAN context, placemaking acts as a powerful driver of local development—energizing small businesses, attracting tourism, and enhancing real estate value. This theme explores how vibrant, inclusive public spaces generate measurable returns across social, environmental, economic, and cultural dimensions. For developers and city stakeholders, placemaking offers strong ROI: increased foot traffic, improved brand perception, higher tenant retention, and long-term value appreciation tied to thriving, community-centred environments.

3. Community Empowerment

In ASEAN communities where there is often high power distances, placemaking empowers communities and gives them voice—especially those often left out of formal decision-making—to shape the environments they live in. This theme highlights grassroots leadership, community-driven initiatives, and collaborative tools for co-creation. It underscores how inclusive participation strengthens social bonds, fosters a shared sense of ownership, and builds more liveable, equitable cities rooted in local identity and collective pride.

4. The role of Government in Placemaking

In the ASEAN region, governments play a pivotal role in enabling placemaking by fostering inclusive collaboration. This theme explores how adaptive governance, participatory planning, and creative bureaucracy can unlock co-creation between public agencies and communities. Aligned with the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Strategy (ASUS), it encourages the integration of placemaking into national and local urban policies—promoting people-centred development, cultural relevance, and sustainability. Through such partnerships, ASEAN cities can become more liveable, resilient, and socially cohesive.

Programme

Parallel Session Details

Ticket Price

Note:

1. Government officials who wish to make payment via Local Order (LO), please contact the Secretariat directly at 03-7977 0636 / 0637 for assistance with the registration and payment process.

2. This ticket admits 1 person only and includes a RM90 food voucher. 

Enquiry

Phone: 03-7877 0636 / 0637  - Secretariat, Malaysian Institute of Planners (Pertubuhan Perancang Malaysia).

Email: pertubuhanperancang@gmail.com / pwasean2025@gmail.com

About Malaysian Institute of Planners (Pertubuhan Perancang Malaysia)

The Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP) is a registered professional membership organisation. Established in 1972, the objective of the Malaysian Institute of Planners is "to promote the science and art of urban planning for the benefit of the public...". With over 2,500 registered members including Honorary Fellows, Fellows, Corporate Members, Graduate Members, Associate Members, and Student Members, MIP plays a pivotal role in championing and leading advancement and change in planning practices. The Institute drives innovation, addresses critical issues in the profession, and champions best practices that serve both planners and the public.

MIP provides essential services to its members, including professional training, continuous development programmes, cross-industry networking, international exposure, and updates on global and national policies. The Institute also recognises and promotes excellence in urban planning through its awards and initiatives.

About PLACEMAKING Malaysia

Launched in 2021, PLACEMAKING Malaysia is a distinguished centre of excellence operating under the aegis of the Malaysia Institute of Planners (MIP). Our core objective is to advocate and champion the placemaking movement. We firmly believe that thriving places are created through a participatory process and have the power to enhance the quality of life for Malaysians. Since its establishment, PLACEMAKING Malaysia has become a platform of network to like-minded people and organisation that are passionate about public spaces and how to make them equitable,inclusive, vibrant, safe, healthy, and sustainable.