What? Yes!  3 days and 3 nights to build a boulevard.   Much like the work that goes into PARKing Day, the folks at Better Block provide tools and resources to help communities perform temporary revitalization projects in underused urban spaces. They envision Better Block as  a “living charette” for community engagement. $1000 and a lot of enthusiasm brought in street furniture and food carts to create a Living Plaza in front of Dallas City Hall in April; and in June, this cool 72-hour contest to build a segment of boulevard. There are lots other successful examples of community-led interventions that became accepted and permanent.  Most don’t have a self-aware, central organizing principle behind them that an advocacy group like Better Blocks does — think of any number of community gardens that sprung up in the days before Food Policy Councils and urban food strategies.   Most also didn’t set out to be temporary — although like the  community bread oven project in Toronto’s Dufferin Grove Park, they may have set out to fly permanently under the radars of licensing and bylaw inspectors.  Public space mandate or not, inspired way not only to to re-imagine how spaces can be used, but also to remind people that better uses are possible.  And in the best case scenario, a good way to show to urban decision-makers and naysayers that some of these possibilities can be successful.  So what does it take to make temporary, community-led demonstration projects like this permanent?    (vis publicdesignfestival)

What? Yes!  3 days and 3 nights to build a boulevard.  

Much like the work that goes into PARKing Day, the folks at Better Block provide tools and resources to help communities perform temporary revitalization projects in underused urban spaces. They envision Better Block as  a “living charette” for community engagement.

$1000 and a lot of enthusiasm brought in street furniture and food carts to create a Living Plaza in front of Dallas City Hall in April; and in June, this cool 72-hour contest to build a segment of boulevard.

There are lots other successful examples of community-led interventions that became accepted and permanent.  Most don’t have a self-aware, central organizing principle behind them that an advocacy group like Better Blocks does — think of any number of community gardens that sprung up in the days before Food Policy Councils and urban food strategies.   Most also didn’t set out to be temporary — although like the  community bread oven project in Toronto’s Dufferin Grove Park, they may have set out to fly permanently under the radars of licensing and bylaw inspectors. 

Public space mandate or not, inspired way not only to to re-imagine how spaces can be used, but also to remind people that better uses are possible.  And in the best case scenario, a good way to show to urban decision-makers and naysayers that some of these possibilities can be successful. 

So what does it take to make temporary, community-led demonstration projects like this permanent?   

(vis publicdesignfestival)