OJB*places is a vital advisory practice, created to ensure spaces are designed to support diverse programming/activation and to help our clients establish sustainable business operations. Our team of planners and public realm experts work with public and private entities to preserve, repair, and restore access to open space and landscape environments.
Approach
OJB’s team studies a space’s potential for revenue and financial sustainability.
We consult with municipal leaders and applicable stakeholders and create a plan for the space’s goals. In these meetings, potential annual funding and revenue strategies are discussed, along with public space management and operations, governance models, and programming and activation planning.
It’s not enough to have a beautiful public space—it should also be economically sound.
Public spaces suited to concerts, farmers markets, or other events will better serve as hubs for community connection and municipal revenue. When a gathering space is financially self-sustaining, it serves the community longer. Keenly attuned to how public spaces can add to the quality of civic life, the *places team helps clients achieve their goals with public realm strategies and planning.
Tara earned a Master of Sports Administration from Ohio University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also a Certified Sports Event Executive. As Principal of Public Realm Strategies, Tara works with designers, consultants, clients, and communities on project programming, governance and staffing, and budgeting. Her ability to build support for activation and self-sustaining operations has been pivotal to the success of several of OJB’s major urban parks, university campuses, and mixed-use developments. Keenly attuned to how open spaces can add to the quality of civic life, Tara’s role is to help clients achieve their goals with sound planning. Having grown up in multiple places across the United States, Tara is a passionate student of human nature, which serves her well as a community engagement specialist.
Maissa joined OJB in 2023. She earned a Master of Urban Placemaking and Management from Pratt Institute and a Bachelor of Science in Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. As a Public Realm Design specialist, Marissa seeks to create unique and accessible outdoor experiences in our daily urban environments. She believes a public space should be intentionally designed and accessible to all users. Motivated to create landscapes that are both dynamic and satisfying to all, Marissa is skilled in planning spaces that can be enjoyed by both active and passive users. Before coming to the Dallas office, Marissa’s previous experience expanded her knowledge in advocacy, business development, urban planning, and placemaking. She had an internship as a Project Coordinator at Public Works Partners, another internship as a Planning Intern at The Municipal Art Society of New York, and right before coming to OJB, she worked at a regional consulting firm as an Urban Planner/Designer. In her spare time, she loves dancing, exploring new restaurants, and traveling to new distant cities.
