“The Better Block” Celebrates Four Years of Re-imagining Streets

Streetfilms has wanted to profile Jason Roberts and the amazing work of The Better Block for a long time. So it felt like destiny when, a few weeks ago, we were able to sync up and chronicle the fourth anniversary of The Better Block in Oak Cliff, Texas.  This temporary pedestrian plaza is right next to the original site where Roberts and the team at The Better Block first showed how you can completely transform a street using temporary materials and your imagination.

In this Streetfilm you’ll see some of the behind-the-scenes set-up and preparation. You’ll see how, in short order, they transform a dangerous intersection into a safe street with a barebones budget — including an incredibly inventive application of decals to create temporary crosswalks.

The Better Block approach to re-imagining sidewalk amenities seems to be catching on. In San Francisco, the Castro neighborhood will be getting rainbow crosswalks. Then, in the guerrilla striping tradition, an anonymous someone altered the bars on a Hawaii crosswalk overnight to read “Aloha.”

Check this map for a look at all the work Roberts has done with Better Block, and its impact around the world has inspired dozens of similar projects around the world.