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Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
21 Favorite Community Development Ideas to Inspire Both Small Actions, Big Projects
These starter community development ideas serve as examples of activities your neighborhood can begin now.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
4th of July Blow Out!
Last summer for the weekend of fourth of July, my family and I went up to celebrate my Tiiti and my daughter's birthdays which fall a day apart. This festivalGuide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
A New Streetscape Can Create an Attractive and Memorable District
Tailor a custom streetscape with eye-catching sidewalks, landscaping, street trees, benches, lighting, good-looking signs, and other pedestrian amenities.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Abandoned Buildings and Lots Require Swift Action
Abandoned buildings and vacant lots threaten the integrity of neighborhoods. Learn about the best steps the community might take to find relief.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Adding Street Lighting for Atmosphere or Safety
This page discusses street lighting choices in the language of citizens and community leaders.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Alley Cleanup Tips for Better Health, Safety, and Aesthetics
Alley cleanup tips will help you build neighborhood spirit, not to mention promote health and safety. Here's how to organize your event.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Alleys Offer Important Advantages in Keeping Cars Behind Houses
Alleys are traditional in cities, but were dropped from post-World War II suburbs. Now they’re making a comeback, and we clean, green, and beautify them.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
An Off Leash Dog Park Should Match Community Needs
An off leash dog park provides a place for canine play and exercise that also allows owners to socialize and learn about proper pet care.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Are Ugly Utility Lines Really a Big Deal?
Many business districts and neighborhoods eventually focus on ugly utility lines as detracting from visual appeal. This page explores how to approach this issue.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Beach Nourishment Preserves Tourism But Offers Limited Environmental Benefits
Beach nourishment programs transfer sand from an offsite location to replenish an area torn apart by erosion or storm. This page helps you evaluate costs.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Best Street Festival in Chicago? Definitely Wicker Park Fest.
Chicago, Illinois is a place known for its high winds and cold winters. When the summer comes along, everyone in the city is ready to get outside and enjoyGuide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Best Street Party Seattle's Capitol Hill
Every year in Seattle's hip Capitol Hill area the whole city comes to celebrate the heat of summer, listen to a huge variety of music, drink far too muchGuide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Bicycle Sharing Continues to Advance
Bicycle sharing has spread rapidly in five continents and is feasible for smaller cities and campuses. Understand the benefits and challenges.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Block Party Delicious Anticipation
When I visited friends in a suburb of Chicago, the street department came on a Saturday morning and blocked off the ends of the street. Our hostessGuide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Civilian Oversight Helps the Public Understand Policing Situations
Civilian oversight boards can help your city develop and maintain police accountability and transparency to residents, and increase trust in law enforcement.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Cleaning Up Your Neighborhood Park Is A Simple, Rewarding Activity
Learn the steps for cleaning up your neighborhood park, starting with event preparation all the way to post-project activities.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Community Amphitheaters Can Be Viable Low-Budget Projects with Big Benefits
When you envision community amphitheaters as gathering places, you capture the best meaning of this community project. They are also beautification.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Community Beautification Lifts Spirits and Property Values
Learn about community beautification projects to do now, and 8 opportunities and 7 challenges for larger issues.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Community Improvement Projects Boost Enthuasism
Community improvement projects succeed when you know how to plan them realistically and anticipate what is needed to pull them off. Here are some tips.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Community Mental Health Approaches Could Reduce Homelessness, Some Types of Crime
We advocate for more focused local attention to community mental health to deal with crime, homelessness, substance abuse, and more.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Community Policing Could Be Important for Your Neighborhood?
If you understand potential benefits and pitfalls of community policing, you can push your city toward better crime prevention performance.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Consider Street Closures to Allow Other Public Uses and Meet Multiple Objectives
Street closures to allow plazas, outdoor dining, and even green space may seem radical, but you can experiment with pop-ups first to see if you like it.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Court Monitoring Can Expand Neighborhood Influence and Sense of Control
Court monitoring programs allow neighborhood residents to influence sentencing, present impact statements, and work to restore wholeness for victims.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
CPTED Crime Approach Favors Certain Types of Building, Landscape, and Street Design
The theory of CPTED, also known as environmental crime prevention, emphasizes fighting crime by using design principles. We say where we agree or disagree.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Create a Parklet to Add New Interest to a Street
A parklet transforms parking spaces into a sidewalk extension to provide seating, greenery, and perhaps cafe space. Find out how and when to create one.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Crime Prevention Stems from Community Cooperation
Crime prevention is central to success in many neighborhoods. Learn the best ways to organize neighborhood watch and traffic calming.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Do big streetscape projects bring maintenance headaches
Last Reviewed: June 17, 2024 Visitor Question: I'm on the board of a business improvement district. Several of our board members want to see a major revampGuide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
E-Waste Recycling Needs A Combination of Local, Corporate Programs
More e-waste recycling would retrieve valuable metals and recyclable plastic and glass from electronics, but also keep heavy metals out of landfills.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Halloween Carnival: One of the Best Street Parties
For the past 3 years we have done a neighborhood Halloween carnival. Games are set up with small prizes. You can sell tickets to play the games. Food andGuide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Healthy Tree Canopy Offers Aesthetic, Health, and Social Benefits
Planting and maintaining a high-quality tree canopy, both on public and private property, enhances air and water quality but also provides social benefits.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
How to Plan a Successful Community Mural Project
Learn the steps for painting a successful community mural. If you avoid pitfalls, this project can initiate revitalization or reinforce neighborhood identity.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
How to Tame Big Box Stores If You Can't Ban Them
Negative impacts of big box stores, such as large warehouse stores or other giant retail spaces, can be blended into the cityscape through good design.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Ideal Neighborhood Character Blends Order, Uniqueness
If you work to improve the thirteen most important factors in neighborhood character, your community will be unstoppable.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Let Them Eat Art street party
Let Them Eat Art, an apparently annual event in Maplewood, Missouri, an inner ring suburb of Saint Louis, is among the best street parties we've attended.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Limestone Heritage Festival -- Bedford, Indiana
Every year, Bedford Indiana is host to an awesome festival called the Limestone Heritage Festival. The entire weekend is filled with events for peopleGuide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Making Safe Parks for Everyone
A steady stream of happy users leads to safe parks. A clean and appealing landscape attracts visitors who will serve as your eyes on the park.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Making Small Cell Technology as Unobtrusive as Possible
Small cell technology supports broadband access and connectivity among devices and objects, bringing many community advantages, but the aesthetics are poor.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Manufactured Housing: Solution or Problem?
Here is some help in deciding if manufactured housing, once called a mobile home or trailer, is an affordable hero or a blighting villain to the community.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Neglected Property Cleanups Often Become Difficult Projects; Make Them Easier
Many neighborhoods find they need to organize neglected property cleanups. This happens in great suburbs and challenged neighborhoods. Here are some tips.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Neighborhood Solar Solutions Could Be Cost-Effective
Neighborhood solar arrays on rooftops or underused spaces can generate reduce resident energy bills. In spite of political opposition, it's a good solution.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Neighborhood Watch Can Lower Your Crime Rate
Neighborhood watch programs are the most popular method for organizing citizens to prevent or deter crime, as crime and suspicious activity rise on a block.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Nine Better Stream Cleanup Tips
These stream cleanup tips will show you how to sidestep the obstacles to a fun outing and water quality improvement.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Pumpkin Festival Connects Residents
Reviewed: June 4, 2024 Website Visitor Writes: In 2021 the Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri, was able to resume its annual Pumpkinfest. AlthoughGuide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Several Pieces of Public Art on the Same Theme Can Make Your Town Memorable
When you learn how to establish a public art theme, you give your community the best bang for its buck and also maximize the impact of your selections.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Shade Structures Can Soften a Severe Environment or Create a New Destination
Shade structures are no substitute for trees, but sometimes you need artificial ways to shield pedestrians from heat. The good news is they can be pretty too.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Sign Regulation Can Enhance Community Appearance
Sign regulation, within the zoning ordinance or as a stand-alone law, can improve the appearance of a city's commercial streets dramatically. Start here..Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Start a Community Garden for Fun, Food, Beauty, Belonging
Start a community garden as a stellar team-building activity that can provide quality food and help neighbors bond in urban, suburban, and small town places.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Street Parties Build Community, Market Your Neighborhood
Successful street parties build neighborhood community and generate excitement about your area. This page also encourages site visitors to submit stories.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
The Importance of Correct Scale for Public Sculpture
The wrong scale for public sculpture sets the wrong tone for the whole block--or neighborhood. Don't ruin the effect!Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Top 7 Tips For Regional-Scale Large Park Cleanups
This collection of large park cleanup tips outlines an approach to volunteer projects in big regional parks.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Traffic Calming Devices Can Increase Safety
Traffic calming slows auto traffic to increase the safety and appeal of your community. We urge that you figure out how to reduce or disperse traffic.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Trust in Police Grows When Both Community and Officers Make the Effort
Trust in police sustains and rebuilds itself only with intentional hard work. We explore steps to restore cooperation between community and law enforcement.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Try Art in Public Places for Creating a Memorable Space
Choosing your art in public places wisely can make you a hero or shero, but doing too little or too much can make you a villain. Learn about managing the selection process.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Two Countries, Two Cities, Two Neighborhoods and One People!
Visitor Contribution: The names Calexico and Mexicali are both city names taken from the names California and Mexico. This two cities are separated byGuide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Ugly Chain Link Fence Can Be Neutralized
An ugly chain link fence can really detract from the appearance of a block. Wire mesh fencing are common in some neighborhoods, but visitors see rusty barriers.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Urban Design Principles Address Form and Function
Consistent use of 11 urban design principles helps civic and community leaders improve both appearance and functioning of neighborhoods and blocks.Guide · Neighborhoods & public spaces
Why It Just Makes Sense to Consider Fountains as Community Projects
Fountains as community projects are worth your consideration. This page explores some possibilities.
Original guidance from A Good Community: How to Make and Keep It, owned and edited by Nancy Thompson (formerly Useful Community Development), shared with permission. Community Compass notes and updates are our own and have not been reviewed by Nancy Thompson.