Is Centro San Antonio's Pulse of Progress? Latest Guest, Trish DeBerry

For many in our city, nothing comes to mind when they hear Centro, however, if you've ever been to downtown San Antonio and come across friendly faces in sunshine yellow, you've seen Centro in action! Centro is a non-profit placemaking organization for the Public Improvement District of downtown San Antonio. Placemaking, if you haven't heard of the term, is an initiative that involves collaboratively improving and developing an area alongside its residents (Project for Public Spaces).

As a placemaking organization, Centro San Antonio has been dedicated to the beautification and promotion of the downtown ecosystem since 1982 (Centro San Antonio). This is achieved through a number of ongoing projects and initiatives, but a few makeup the core of the organization. Centro's cleaning & maintenance team provides services such as graffiti and bird abatement, pressure washing, trash removal, and sanitation in high-traffic areas to promote public health. Their safety team are the "eyes on the street" for SAPD, discouraging crimes such as trespassing or aggressive panhandling. Centro also has a homeless service initiative which acts as a point of outreach, guiding clients to shelter, housing, or other necessary resources. Finally, Centro's hospitality team is made up of friendly locals who are experts on the downtown area, guiding tourists and locals alike for the best possible experience in the heart of our city.

Downtown San Antonio. Retrieved from Centro: Creating a Safe, Vibrant Downtown San Antonio - San Antonio Woman.

Balancing the needs of residents while simultaneously trying to manage the health, economic, social, and otherwise, of an urban area is no easy feat. In many American cities, placemaking and beautification isn't a priority. While placemaking efforts have been increasing in recognition in recent years, San Antonio is still one of the cities leading this charge. Spearheading these efforts is SA INFLUENCE Mag Show's most recent guest, Trish DeBerry, President and CEO of Centro San Antonio.

The downtown area is the lifeblood of San Antonio, and as such, it is an area that should be protected and improved constantly to reflect the changing needs of our growing city. Placemaking has a number of benefits to environment and locals alike, some including quality of life improvement through welcoming spaces, boosts to economic development via tourism and infrastructure development, positive impacts on mental and physical local health, and the encouragement of community engagement (Civic Brand).

To see the pulse behind the placemaking, watch our exclusive interview with Trish DeBerry and discover how vision, strategy, and bright yellow polos are reshaping the heart of San Antonio.

Sources:

Centro San Antonio. “Centro.” Centro, 2025, centrosanantonio.org.

Civic Brand. “Why Cities Should Prioritize Placemaking and Beautification.” CivicBrand, 4 Apr. 2023, www.civicbrand.com/insights/articles/why-cities-should-prioritize-placemaking-and-beautification.

Project for Public Spaces. “What Is Placemaking?” Project for Public Spaces, 2007, www.pps.org/article/what-is-placemaking.

SA Woman, and Michelle Vasquez. “Centro: Creating a Safe, Vibrant Downtown San Antonio - San Antonio Woman.” San Antonio Woman, 2 July 2024, sawoman.com/2024/07/centro-creating-a-safe-vibrant-downtown-san-antonio/.