The Business Case for Placemaking: Designing Spaces that Drive Loyalty

Let’s get one thing straight: placemaking isn’t just about pretty spaces. It’s about powerful outcomes.

When done right, placemaking transforms the way people experience a brand, a city, a stadium, or a community gathering. It turns passive visitors into engaged participants. Shoppers into repeat customers. Spectators into loyal fans.

It’s the difference between showing up and belonging.

For underrepresented groups — women, BIPOC communities, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ folks — placemaking isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s an invitation that’s long overdue.

What Is Placemaking, Really?

Placemaking is the intentional design of spaces to foster connection, meaning, and interaction. It blends physical design with cultural, social, and emotional context to create environments people actually want to spend time in and are capable of spending time in because their most basic needs have been met.

That means:

• Seating that welcomes conversation, not just foot traffic.
• Lighting that makes people feel safe.
• Wayfinding that includes everyone.
• Moments of beauty that reflect the culture and values of the community.
• Amentities that cater to a population’s lesser recognized needs: changing tables, adult changing tables, mobility assistance, and beyond.

At its core, placemaking isn’t aesthetic. It’s strategic.

The Loyalty Factor

When people feel seen in a space, they come back. When people feel safe, they stay longer. When people feel like they belong, they spend more.

Placemaking fuels loyalty because it signals: “You matter here.”

And in a world full of generic retail environments, sterile offices, and uninspired fan zones, that kind of message is magnetic.

It’s especially powerful for groups who have traditionally been excluded from these experiences – who have learned, often through design itself, that the space wasn’t built for them.

The Economic Upside

We’re not talking theory. We’re talking results.

• Public spaces that center inclusive design see increased foot traffic and retail spend.
• Sports venues that intentionally cater to women see spikes in merch sales, concessions, and brand engagement.
• Businesses that invest in thoughtful, values-driven spaces attract stronger partnerships, more loyal employees, and more aligned audiences.

At Glinda, we’ve seen this firsthand. From transforming community festivals to reimagining brand activations at major sporting events, our placemaking approach helps brands and cities create environments that build emotional connection and economic growth.

If you want people to stick around, advocate for you, and bring others with them, don’t just build the space.

Build it for them.

That’s not decoration. That’s transformation. And it’s the smartest investment you’ll ever make.