When managing current challenges in urban development, a balance must be found between official planning approaches and local needs. The difficulties faced by participatory urban development should match the phenomenon of "city-making", which has been observed in Latin American cities for many years. This article describes an experience that sought a new methodology for intervention in cities and public spaces which, starting from academia, empowers inhabitants to insist on their rights. This experience consisted in intervening in a public space in the city of Piura, Peru. Under the concept of placemaking, academic and social objectives come together through the improvement of the physical conditions of cities. The fieldwork presented made it possible to identify the needs, pretenses and uses of the place; in turn, a diagnostic was produced that served as the basis for the development of the designs, programming of activities with the community, and support groups, as well as for the management of construction resources and monitoring of the impact on the place.