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?