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Better Block Detroit

Sat 09/22 09:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Sun 09/23 09:00 AM - 5:00 PM

E Grand Blvd and St Antoine St, Detroit, MI

Better-block-flyer2

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Detroit Regional Chapter (DRC) Emerging Professionals Committee and Wayne State University are organizing Detroit’s first-ever Better Block in an effort to raise awareness of complete streets, placemaking methods, and the potential for healthy, vibrant neighborhoods in the city. The USGBC-DRC strives to develop our urban environment responsibly using sustainable methods.

Better Block Detroit is the result of a perfect storm between previous Better Block projects, the upcoming Detroit Design Festival, and the Emerging Professional Committee’s continuing efforts to engage the community in greening the built environment. The organizers strive to include participants and leaders in the North End small business and artistic community in this project. Volunteers and partners on the Better Block happening are sourced from all over the city in hopes of rethinking the way this block can be activated and revitalized in the future.

Better Block Detroit will take place on September 22 and 23, the last two days of the Detroit Design Festival. The aim is to make the chosen block, located on E. Grand Blvd. between St. Antoine and Oakland Street, a model of what can happen when sustainable design is applied to a neglected urban area. Better Block is not a street fair or block party, it is a rapid turnaround project in the selected neighborhood to simulate a real, busy, thriving block in a major city. The site will feature food and drinks, work for sale by local artists and artisans, and entertainment and exhibits from nearby venues. Better Block is Detroit’s opportunity to demonstrate tactical urbanism live. This means, Better Block Detroit will be a safe place of assembly and interaction, where Detroiters can invent and make their own vision of what everyday business and entertainment can look like.

Click the “Get Involved” tab on our website or contact us at betterblockdetroit@gmail.com for more information on how to participate in this project. RSVP for Better Block Detroit at our Facebook event page!https://www.facebook.com/events/416098588426680/

OFFICIAL BETTER BLOCK HOURS:
Saturday September 22, 9:00AM - 8:00PM
(after dark, feel free to join us at the adjacent Tangent Gallery for live entertainment)
Sunday September 23, 9:00AM - 5:00PM
(followed by the Official DDF Closing Party at the Detroit City Airport)

E Grand Blvd and St Antoine St, Detroit, MI