Better Block Oak Cliff – Dallas, Texas
Flashback - 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18bfh--Tq6M&t=74s
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Bishop Arts District – Dallas, Texas
Pathways Street Furniture Bishop Arts Co-op Vivo Realty Picole Pops Lockhart Smokehouse Small Planet Bikes Dallas Grilled Cheese Co. Society Dirt Bishop Street Market Flashback - October 2013 We first heard of Bishop Arts District as we were preparing for our Better Block Middlesborough build in Kentucky in 2013. The...
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McCall Plaza – Plano, Texas
What we loved: Permanent professional quality stage anchoring downtown. Nice plantings and finishes. Decorated panels with perforated leaves accent roof and have a floating feel Detail of perforated panels. Professional rigging that may be lowered to adjust. Ledge wide enough for seating. Movable tables and chairs. Plaque recognizing heritage and...
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Great Barrington River Walk – Great Barrington, Massachusetts
What we loved Well maintained Beautiful scenic view along river What needs improvement Secret entrance. Private property impinges in a not welcoming way. Access has its complexity and cost. Well graded trail. Interesting mill along the way. Apparently undergoing some rehab though needs to be better secured. William Stanley Overlook...
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Berkshire Museum – Pittsfield, Massachusetts
What we loved… Family friendly Contributes to social and civic life of town and region. Innovation section tells story of successful innovators from region. Actively programmed and used public space in front. History of site recounted. Free library provides amenity. Raised garden beds emphasize importance of local food. Wally the...
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Imagination Alley – Metuchen, New Jersey
This alley in November 2016 was nothing much to speak of. A few planters kept cars from driving through. That was it. First Iteration - November 2017 Stylized lights were added in November 2017. This gave the alley some lighting to make it more welcoming for pedestrians crossing from the...
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Placemaking: Building It Lighter, Quicker, and Cheaper & Managing It Well – Atlantic City, New Jersey
"Placemaking: Building It Lighter, Quicker, and Cheaper & Managing It Well," Governor’s Conference on Housing and Economic Development, Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey (October 5-6, 2017) Placemaking focuses on creating and enhancing public spaces. Learn how to turn underused spaces into vibrant community gathering places and destinations...
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Mastering the Art of Bringing Low-Cost Rapid Change Downtown – Winnipeg, Canada
Mastering the Art of Bringing Low-Cost Rapid Change Downtown, International Downtown Association, Winnipeg, Canada (September 13, 2017) There is an international trend of low-cost interventions being used to test out ideas before making large capital improvements. Pop-up parks, guerilla wayfinding, and mobile vendors are just a few innovations. During this...
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Pan Am Place – Winnipeg, Canada
Pan Am Place provides transitional housing for at-risk young men. Wonderful three dimensional sculpture of boxing gloves busting through the brick wall above adds to the vibrancy of the street life, and sends a signal to people "in the know" about the use of the building. For others it is...
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Camp – Winnipeg, Canada
When we visited in 2017, a camp had been established outside of the government building. Camps provide an opportunity for people to organize and express their grievances.
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Manitoba Theatre Centre – Winnipeg, Canada
This sculptural assemblage by Ruth Abernethy marks the 50th anniversary of the Manitoba Theatre Centre. The standing figure is John Hirsch, Founding Artistic Director. The following quote attributed to him follows: Theatre is, for me, an ongoing illumination of man, his problems, his dreams, his visions, the society which lifts...
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Lily St Viewer – Winnipeg, Canada
This three-dimensional viewer shows buildings that are no longer standing. When looking through the view finder the silhouette of the buildings aligns with where they once stood in the distance. This almost sculptural addition to the street gives a sense of the passage of time and provides continuity with the...
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Marketlands – Winnipeg, Canada
Marketands is a project of the Centre Venture Development Corporation, meant to facilitate public private partnerships in downtown Winnipeg. Some interesting pre-vitalization activities occurred on the site. A shipping container complex provided space for community engagement to occur. Pavement painting with red arrows drew people towards the containers, and enlivened...
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UWSA Bike Lab – Winnipeg, Canada
The University of Winnipeg Student Association Bike Lab is an on-campus location for students and community members. The lab is inside of two conjoined shipping painters that are artistically painted on the outside. A glass door between the containers provides entry. Established in 2011, the Bike Lab hosts workshops for...
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Camp – Winnipeg, Canada
This camp in Winnipeg, Manitoba was for people displaced by a recent natural disaster. They situated their camp in front of the Manitoba Legislative Building to draw attention to the needs of survivors.
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Manitoba Centenary Fountain – Winnipeg, Canada
This fountain at Donald St and the Trans-Canadian Highway was presented to the people of Winnipeg in October 1970 by the M.E.P.C. Group of Companies and The Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg to commemorate the centenary of Manitoba and the fiftieth anniversary of the first supply of water from Shoal...
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