Better Block BR Video

Better Block BR is excited to present our wrap-up video!

Better Block BR Report

We've been working over the past several months to maintain the momentum of Better Block BR, and have created a wrap-up report showing the progress made. The report details how demonstrations like Better Block BR prove that transportation improvements can connect neighborhoods with downtown, and strategic public investment can be a catalyst for revitalization. Click below to download the report in PDF.

Pictures from Better Block BR

Saturday, April 13, 2013 was a great day for Baton Rouge--check out a few of the images from Better Block BR below!

Sunday's BBBR Activities Cancelled

Due to the bad weather, the Mayor's Office of the City of Baton Rouge – Parish of East Baton Rouge, Center for Planning Excellence, the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance, and the entire Better Block BR team has decided to cancel Better Block BR for today, Sunday, April 14, 2013. 

Volunteers are at the Better Block BR site at this morning to take everything down and clean up. 

The event was a great success on Saturday seeing thousands of participants of all ages and abilities, a variety of activities and business experiments, and something impossible to quantify: intense hope and excitement on behalf of the community.

Unfortunately today, the bike paths have washed away, the greens spaces are filled with puddles and this outdoor event is not possible with more rain forecast throughout the day. All organizers want to thank the volunteers, participants, media and everyone else for helping make history in Baton Rouge.

To continue to participate in the conversation, please follow betterblockbr.org, facebook.com/betterblockbr, and twitter.com/betterblockbr.

Better Block BR is this weekend!

This map shows the layout of this weekend's events. Better Block BR will be held from 10 am to 5 pm both Saturday April 13 and Sunday, April 14.

• We encourage you to travel to Better Block BR by foot or bike, if possible. There will be bike racks at Radio Bar and Catholic High practice field. 
• Parking is available at Baton Rouge Magnet High School and in the Westmoreland Shopping Center parking lot. Please enter Westmoreland Shopping Center off of Acadian behind CVS. 

Please join our Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/events/239043852902899/. We hope to see you there!

Better Block BR Work Day this Saturday, April 6

We need volunteers to help improve the Better Block BR site this Saturday, April 6, 2013! From 8 am to 4 pm, we will be cleaning, picking up trash, doing yardwork, prepping buildings for painting, and other tasks to make the site look its best. We will meet in the parking lot between Westmoreland Shopping Center and CVS on Government Street. Please join us, and don't forget your work clothes and sunscreen!

If you can attend, please join our event on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/events/439854582766456/

Better Block BR featured in The Advocate!

The Advocate featured Better Block BR on the front page of their Sunday Business section. Check it out at the link below to see a summary of what we're doing on the weekend of the event as well as how we hope it will change Government Street in the future!

http://theadvocate.com/news/business/5561068-123/building-blocks

Volunteer Open House TONIGHT, Tuesday, March 19

Tonight, March 19, 2013, Better Block BR is having our second and final Volunteer Open House from 6 to 8 p.m. at La Carreta on Government Street! Refreshments will be served.

BBBR volunteers will help procure, build, clean and set up exterior and interior elements that are designed to improve the aesthetic of Government Street between Bedford Drive and Beverly Drive. They can also promote the event and help visitors get information or find their way around.

At the open house, volunteers can sign up for a team, meet other team members and their team leader, and learn more about what they'll be doing to help us gear up for the Better Block BR event. 

This is our final Volunteer Open House--after tonight, we will have weekly work days, or "meet-ups," to prepare for the event.  

If you have not yet registered to volunteer, we encourage you to fill out our online volunteer form and join Better Block BR! We hope to see you tonight! 

Four Inspiring Articles

We are always looking for inspiration for the Better Block BR project, and we often find it on The Atlantic Cities. Below are four articles that made us think a little differently about our public spaces and what we can do to improve them!

Turn Scaffolding Into a Cozy Seating Area

Want to Show People the Benefits of Transit? Build a Pretend Train Station

Fill That Vacant Parking Space With a Rent-a-Tree

The Power of the Movable Chair

Volunteer Open House Thursday, March 7

This Thursday March 7, 2013, Better Block BR is having our first Volunteer Open House from 6 to 8 p.m. at La Carreta on Government Street! Refreshments will be served.

BBBR volunteers will help procure, build, clean and set up exterior and interior elements that are designed to improve the aesthetic of Government Street between Bedford Drive and Beverly Drive. They can also promote the event and help visitors get information or find their way around.

At the open house, volunteers can sign up for a team, meet other team members and their team leader (or become a team leader!), and learn more about what they'll be doing to help us gear up for the Better Block BR event. 

We will also be having another Volunteer Open House at La Carreta on Tuesday, March 19, as well as weekly meet-ups and work days as we get closer to the event.  

If you have not yet registered to volunteer, we encourage you to fill out our online volunteer form and join Better Block BR! We hope to see you Thursday!

BBBR Open House a Big Hit!

 

What a great meeting we had on February 19th! Over 200 community members showed up for our open house to learn about Better Block BR, give their thoughts in our visual preference surveys, write their thoughts on post-it notes, and proclaim their "big ideas" for the neighborhood on the Neighborland-provided stickers shown in the photo above.

We recruited lots of volunteers and vendors, so we are more excited than ever about Better Block BR's chances for being a huge success! Remember - it's all about participating, so come out on April 13-14 and let us know what you think! Just as with the open house, the event itself will provide ways to have your voice heard. We hope to see you there.

For a recap of the open house, check out this article in nola.com >

Better Block BR Trailer!

Check out our Better Block BR trailer and sign up to join us!

Open House Tonight!

Tonight's Better Block BR Open House will be a casual introduction of the project to the general public, as well as an opportunity for residents, business owners, and anyone who is interested in improving Government Street to share their ideas for how the corridor can live up to its potential. We will have stations set up with informative take-aways, visual preference surveys, and our Better Block team members discussing opportunities and gathering ideas. Whether people want to get involved as volunteers, or just want an opportunity to be heard, we hope they will feel welcome to attend tonight's event.

Click the image to see the flyer!

Types of Complete Streets

The design of Better Block BR is based on Complete Streets design principles—or ways of building streets that serve user types of all ages and abilities, whether they travel by foot, bike, automobile, or otherwise. Check out this slideshow of what Complete Streets can mean for different types of communities.

What do you think Government Street would look like if it were a complete street?