Place-based education has been forwarded as a pedagogical approach that has the potential to contextualize learning, increase student engagement, and strengthen the relationship between schools and the broader community. Despite this promise, however, many teachers struggle to develop learning experiences that incorporate the key components of this approach, including emergent and interest-driven learning. As a result, there is a need for additional instructional models that can provide guidance for designing and implementing place-based learning experiences. A key goal of this study was to develop a new instructional-design theory that can be used by teachers to engage learners in iterative cycles of community-based inquiry and design. While the theory, which is called Place-based Design, builds on relevant research in place-, democratic-, and design-based education, it was developed as part of this study across two "designed" cases. The first case consisted of an integrated social studies and language arts project where students researched contested places in their community and then designed an Augmented Reality interactive story to teach others about a controversial plan to redevelop a nature conservancy near their school. The second case consisted of an integrated social studies and art project, where students used mobile devices to document everyday art and artists in their community and then used their research to co-design an exhibit at a local children's museum. Analysis of the designed cases was used to establish the tentative goals, values, methods, and principles associated with Place-based Design. The cases were also used to identify several implementation issues that should be considered when using Place-based Design to guide instruction. By incorporating key practices from design-based education and providing strategies for supporting emergent learning opportunities, the author posits that Place-based Design has the potential to address some of the gaps in place-based education. Because it is intended as an initial reference model, however, future research is needed to modify, adapt, and refine the current iteration of Place-based Design across more diverse settings and contexts. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]