The Better Block

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The Better Block

We’re an urban design nonprofit that educates, equips, and empowers communities' environments.
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Better Block Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that educates, equips, and empowers communities and their leaders to reshape and reactivate built environments to promote the growth of healthy and vibrant neighborhoods.

06/17/2026

Join us for our next Better Intersections meeting for District 3!

Supporting Brasher Elementary School, the Hampton-Illinois Branch Library, and the Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, we’ll be discussing on economic development, connectivity, and safety to encourage more pedestrian activity in the area.

Better Intersections builds on our hands-on, community-powered approach to test safer streets in Dallas. This program is rooted in the principles of Vision Zero - the idea that traffic deaths and serious injuries are preventable, not inevitable.

• Date & Time: June 23 | 6:00 P.M.
• Meeting Location: Hampton-Illinois Branch Library

Please join us in-person or virtually via Zoom at betterblock.org/betterintersections

06/15/2026

Reimagining Main Street starts with creating places where people want to stay, connect, and return.

Over the course of seven months in 2025, we partnered with the City of Irving, Texas - City Hall to test new ideas, activate public spaces, support local businesses, and bring people together through weekly events and programming. Using Better Block’s temporary placemaking tools such as fabricated installations, parklets, PVC ghost facades, the Better Block in a Box, and a woonerf-inspired street mural - we explored what it takes to transform a car-centric street into a destination for people.

From street markets, concerts, and annual holiday events, Downtown Irving Reimagined became an example for the future of Main Street. The result? A place where people gathered, lingered, and connected.

Watch the full project story on YouTube through the link below: https://youtu.be/Yf6aAMiEok8?is=I-Bik57Sv2Nl4i6B

(Video: The Shearer Group)

06/12/2026

Still thinking about applying to Better Block University 2026? Good news, we’ve extended the application deadline to June 28!

If you’re passionate about creating safer streets, stronger neighborhoods, and more connected public spaces, there’s still time to join our next cohort of community changemakers. Through hands-on mentorship and real-world project experience, you’ll gain the tools to turn your ideas into action.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of the next generation of Better Block leaders. Apply now at betterblock.org/bbu

06/10/2026

Let’s create better intersections together!

Better Intersections builds on our hands-on, community-powered approach to test safer streets in Dallas. Rather than waiting years for permanent capital projects, this initiative allows neighborhoods to quickly pilot and evaluate ideas that improve safety, visibility, walkability, and comfort at selected intersections. This program is rooted in the principles of Vision Zero - the idea that traffic deaths and serious injuries are preventable, not inevitable.

By testing low-cost, community-informed interventions in real-world conditions, the program helps neighborhoods move from conversation to demonstration while giving the City valuable insight into what works prior to long-term investments.

Our first cohort meeting will take place in District 9 and focus on improvements around Lakewood Elementary, a child-focused safety project designed to improve safe access and connectivity around the school.

• Date & time: June 16 | 6:00 P.M.
• Meeting Location: Ridgewood / Belcher Recreation Center

Please join us in-person or virtually via Zoom by visiting betterblock.org/betterintersections!

06/09/2026

We’ve reached the final group of our 2025 Better Block University cohort highlights:

After hearing concerns from the principal of Richard Lagow Elementary about student walking safety, Rae Esters led a project focused on creating a safer and more welcoming route to school. With support from volunteers from Project Restore and Springs Fellowship Church, the team installed two crosswalks, a 75-foot sidewalk mural, and transformed a 45-foot retaining wall.

To address safety concerns and strengthen campus identity, Rebecca Murry led a project focused on creating a greater sense of pride, ownership, and belonging at Harmony Science Academy. By bringing together students, staff, and administrators around a shared vision, the activation highlighted opportunities for safer and more welcoming pedestrian experiences. The project’s impact has already extended beyond campus, inspiring a neighboring school to pursue similar improvements and safety enhancements.

To celebrate the future of the long-anticipated Graham light rail station, Aja Hazelhoff helped bring the community together for a block party that showcased the neighborhood’s vision for a more connected future. By leveraging in-kind donations, local partnerships, and the support of more than 50 volunteers, 350 residents attended, demonstrating the power of community-led activation to build excitement and momentum around future neighborhood improvements.

Suzanne Massey’s project combined pedestrian safety, community engagement, and neighborhood beautification to create a more welcoming public space. The team installed a colorful temporary crosswalk at an unmarked crossing, added playful yarn art to nearby trees, and distributed handmade hats and scarves to local families.

You’ve met the 2025 cohort! If these projects inspire you, applications for Better Block University 2026 are now open for individuals ready to create safer, more connected, and more vibrant neighborhoods through tactical urbanism and placemaking. Apply today at betterblock.org/bbu.

06/08/2026

Our recent project with Downtown Houston!

With major investments on the horizon and the world’s attention turning toward the World Cup, now is an ideal time to test new ideas and learn from them in real-world conditions. Important conversations are taking place about mobility, public space, economic development, and how people experience these cities.

06/03/2026

Ever wondered how our El Mercado Everybody Table came to be?

Created through a partnership with AARP Texas, the Everybody Table is part of our Age-Friendly Wikiblock Collection - an extension of our open-source design library focused on creating spaces that are welcoming and accessible for adults 50+ while bringing together people of all ages.

Designed to support livable, age-friendly communities, these pieces prioritize comfort, stability, usability, and connection. The Everybody Table lives up to its name. With seating for four, generous space for easy entry and exit, and room to accommodate wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers, it’s designed so everyone has a seat at the table.

Since 2022, this design has been used in projects around the world, helping create places where people of all ages can gather, connect, and build community.

Hold the dots from slides 10-19 and scroll to see the table in action! Ready to build your own? Download the files for free at betterblock.org/aarptx and get started!

06/01/2026

What if the people who know a neighborhood best are the ones who help shape its future?

In East Point, Georgia, that transformation started when residents picked up paint brushes, hammers, tools, and began building their vision for downtown together. Lasting change happens when residents move from being participants to partners. That’s the foundation of Pillar 2: Community as Co-Creators.

From the first sketch to the final build, our most successful projects happen when community members, local leaders, and organizations work side by side to create change together.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll share stories from communities across the country that prove an important truth: the power to transform a place has been there all along.

Stay tuned as we explore Pillar 2: Community as Co-Creators from our 10 year Impact Report!

05/28/2026

We’re continuing our spotlight on the incredible 2025 Better Block University cohort:

To support Bunkie’s Complete Streets vision, Michelle Reynolds with Move Bunkie Forward introduced a demonstration crosswalk during the community’s annual corn festival to gather feedback on safer street design. The crosswalk incorporated corn and sugarcane motifs while highlighting how Complete Streets improvements can enhance safety, accessibility, economic development, and overall quality of life for the community.

To address pedestrian safety and underutilized public infrastructure along Newark’s South Broad Street corridor, Bilal Walker developed a tactical urbanism project rooted in community data, public art, and environmental design. By combining urban planning, local artistry, and public health principles, the project reimagines the corridor as a safer, more connected space.

In response to Anchorage’s rising pedestrian fatalities, Bree Kessler launched a simple but impactful safety intervention focused on increasing pedestrian visibility during Alaska’s long winter months. Partnering with local agencies and urban design collaborators, the project activated a high-crash bus stop with lighting, community engagement, and the distribution of hundreds of reflective zipper tags to help create safer streets for pedestrians citywide.

To address safety concerns at one of Lawrenceville’s most dangerous intersections, Emma Gamble with Lawrenceville United led a community-driven activation focused on creating safer and more welcoming streets. With the help of more than 35 volunteers, the project introduced a temporary bus lane, high-visibility crosswalks, a mural, solar lighting, planters, benches, and streetscape improvements. The activation also sparked long-term commitments for permanent intersection upgrades, demonstrating the power of tactical urbanism to build safer, more connected communities.

Applications for the Better Block University 2026 cohort are now open. If you’re ready to reimagine your streets, public spaces, and neighborhoods, apply now at betterblock.org/bbu before June 12!

05/27/2026

What can temporary change teach us about the future of our cities?

We partnered with Downtown Dallas, Inc. to create Activate Main Street, an initiative that uses temporary urbanism and the World Cup as ways to test new possibilities for Downtown Dallas in real time. While we could not paint crosswalks, we worked with volunteers to temporarily transform parking spaces into protected curb extensions with parklets designed for people as a place to safely gather, rest, play, explore, and connect.

Temporary demonstrations like this allow cities to move beyond conversation and into experience. Rather than imagining what a more walkable, bikeable, and pediestrain-freindly Downtown could look like, residents and visitors are invited to experience it firsthand.

We purposely installed the activation a few weeks before welcoming World Cup guests because we wanted to test real-world conditions and gather feedback and data from residents and visitors to Downtown. Over the next few weeks, we’re working with community volunteers to gather data on public life, traffic speeds, and safety to better understand how these interventions shape how people move through and interact with Downtown. These temporary projects may only last a few weeks, but they create something lasting: real-world insight, public feedback, and a shared vision for what our streets can become.

Make sure to follow Downtown Dallas Inc. for future events along Main Street this summer, or visit betterblock.org/activatemainstreet to learn more about the data study!

(Drone images: Downtown Dallas Inc. / Lindsay Jones)

Address

1723 South Ewing Avenue
Dallas, TX
75216

Website

http://www.betterblock.org/

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