We talk a lot about improving the streets here at TransitMiami.com. Streets are about moving people, but they are also destinations in and of themselves. People go out of there way to ride specific bikeways and trails, explore Lincoln Road and the Upper Eastside/Biscayne Boulevard. Families take tri-rail just to get to Clematis for an afternoon stroll, lunch, maybe some window-shopping. Our streets are 80%+ of the public realm and people inuit that. So, what’s the next step?
Watch the video: Better Block Oak Cliff
Bike Miami Days is just one example of how people can reclaim their street for a few hours and explore their city in a new way. I love to see people riding bikes for the first time in years, kids playing in the streets, and businesses bustling. But there are other ways to do this, too.
In Oak Cliff, a thriving, exciting neighborhood in Greater Dallas, residents are skipping the City Hall beg-and-plead altogether, and creating their own “Better Block.” And local policymakers are listening.
The Monday after this blatantly illegal re-functioning of one block in Oak Cliff, the city turned to the volunteers involved and said, “Make this permanent”. For less than $1,000, they convinced City Hall to give them over $130,000 and this very month, they are going make it happen.
What could happen in Miami if people just did it? What blocks can we help you make better?
4 Responses to Better City by Better Block: Dallas as our example
Leave a Reply
Contact Us!
Planetizen- Can Gentle Gentrification Create 'Shared Neighbourhoods'? May 23, 2013Is revitalization without displacement possible? Although it's a harder and longer process than unmitigated gentrification, Brent Toderian argues that "positive and responsible change" can coexist with the maintenance of existing communities. […]
- City Growth Picks Up, Continues to Outpace Suburbs May 23, 2013New census data shows that America's cities continue to grow at a faster rate than their suburbs, sustaining the reversal of a decades-long trend. […]
- Mapping the United States of Parking May 23, 2013With arresting infographics, architect Seth Goodman aims to expose the absurd parking requirements that can be found in cities across America. […]
- Chicago Plans Largest School Closing in Nation's History May 23, 2013Seeking to trim budgets and 'distribute scarce resources more efficiently,' Mayor Rahm Emanuel's controversial plan to shrink Chicago's school system moved ahead yesterday with the Board of Ed's vote to shut 49 of the city's elementary schools. […]
- Does Delhi's Drive to be a World-Class City Doom Low-Income Communities? May 23, 2013A proposal for a vertical neighborhood in Delhi is long on height but short on insight, according to Greg Randolph of the American India Foundation. Is Delhi ‘poised to repeat the public housing mistakes of the West’? […]
- Developing a Second Life for the Suburban Office Park May 23, 2013Across America, developers and municipalities are trying to adapt a relic of the sprawling post-war suburbs for a more urbane 21st century. Can office park makeovers revive these increasingly barren landscapes? […]
- Canada's Rental Housing Crisis: A National Disaster That Demands a National Answer May 23, 2013With little fanfare, a rental housing crisis has gripped Canada. 42 per cent of young adults live with their parents and hundreds of thousands are on affordable housing waiting lists. It's time for Ottawa to step in, argues Denise Balkissoon. […]
- Should Your City Ban Fluoride? Portland Just Did, Again May 23, 2013Although a growing list of communities (of which Portland is the largest) have banned the addition of fluoride to tap water, such places are doing so against the recommendations of the medical establishment. What's driving the backlash? […]
- A Modest Proposal for Pedestrian-Cyclist Detente May 23, 2013The impending launch of bike-share is sure to escalate the simmering tensions between New York's growing legion of cyclists and its hordes of pedestrians. L.V. Anderson and Aisha Harris propose a 10-point treaty for pedestrian-cyclist armistice. […]
- Paris Develops for the 21st Century, Along its Periphery May 23, 2013After more than a decade of planning, the ambitious Clichy Batignolles project is rising in northwest Paris. The development is an attempt to stay competitive in the global marketplace, without compromising the city's world-renowned charms. […]
- Can Gentle Gentrification Create 'Shared Neighbourhoods'? May 23, 2013
- Green Mobility Network
- An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.
Flagler Street in Downtown should be made into a pedestrian-only street.
Do it.
[...] and cafes. We’ve just gotten word that the event is starting to go viral nationally with Transit Miami picking up the story [...]
Every city in Miami-Dade (or local neighborhood) should pick say 1 mile of a street and close it every Sunday to cars, allowing people (and pets) to bike and walk it. It will take a little time, but when the businesses on those streets see the crowds, they’ll become the most vocal advocates for closing the street every weekend and perhaps permanently. Lincoln Road should be replicated everywhere. I’d go far as to say that vendors should allowed on thse streets without the usual licensing and/or fees (at least in the beginning).