Save the date, folks. On March 11, Santa Monica Next will host an urbanism + placemaking happy hour with Gehl Architects from 6 to 8 p.m. Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Gehl Architects will be in town that week for the West Coast Urban District Forum, hosted this year in Downtown Santa Monica. They will join us Wednesday evening after a panel titled, “Place and Spaces: How to Properly Activate and Manage Public Spaces.”

At Wednesday’s panel, Gehl Architects will delve into the principles of quality placemaking.

“It’s not enough to have street trees, level sidewalks and benches along a heavily traveled street. Those are just the basic amenities. For exceptional place making, you have to create environments that invite greater interaction between people and foster healthier, more social and economically viable communities,” according to the West Coast Urban District Forum’s description of the panel.

Help us keep the conversation going over drinks.