Better Block Brownsville Part Deux

Join the City of Brownsville, United Brownsville and many other organizations on July 21st for Market Square Better Block Brownsville program, which aims to create excitement and interest in rebuilding Brownsville’s Market Square and Historic Downtown District.

This community event is free to the public and will features many activities, public art, live music, vendors, sidewalk cafes, street chess, shopping, walking Tours and more.

Last months event helped transform the heart of downtown into a people-friendly place for residents, and visitors alike. The Market Square area was cleaned, benches were painted, lights were strung from trees, and surrounding businesses began adding to the vibe with cafe tables and landscaping. Multiple pop-up shops were created in vacant buildings including a bike store, clothing boutique, music shop, ice cream shop, and map/art store. The streets surrounding the square were retrofitted with bike lanes and kids activities were placed throughout the area a family-friendly public space.

The “Better Block” project is a demonstration tool that temporarily redesigns an area to show the potential to create a great walkable, vibrant neighborhood center. The project creates a real life model for the community to actively engage in “complete streets” design concepts. Pop-up businesses are also developed to allow the community to see the potential for revitalized economic activity in an area.

This is part of a larger effort with Better Block projects now being performed throughout the country. The goal is to allow cities to rapidly implement infrastructure and policy changes that spur downtown revitalization. Learn more about Better Block.

A key concept of Better Block is to move beyond artist renderings of what downtown could be, to actually taking action today by creating demonstrative changes to Market Square. However, this project is beyond simply being a street festival or even a “beautification” effort. It actively questions outdated concepts and current development standards that may be stifling the very development our community wants to encourage.

For more info:
www.betterblockbrownsville.com