Liz Franzmann

What:

The Better Block tour of Victoria will help kickstart a revitalization of neighborhoods and communities across Victoria by inspiring, connecting and supporting local changemakers.

Imagine this: your neighbourhood thriving with new, creative local businesses, sustainable transport options, shared food gardens and safe, inspiring public spaces to connect with your community. These are just a few things the Better Block project has been helping achieve in cities across America.

We'll be kicking off the Sustainable Living Festival Better Block Tour with a keynote presentation at Federation Square, Melbourne, during the Festival’s Big Weekend (15-17 Feb) and then make our way to Ballarat, Geelong and Traralgon with the following program:

1. The Keynote Presentations (Gathering)

Jason will talk about the Better Block approach to helping revitalize communities and enabling sustainable transport modes, while increasing economic development and reducing carbon emissions.

2. Community Engagement Workshops (Connecting, Collaborating, and Celebrating)

The SLF team will facilitate a creative participatory workshop to assist communities identify potential local Better Block sites and opportunities.

WHO:

Jason Roberts, co-founder of the Better Block Project (rapid urban revitalization projects) is coming to Australia to join the Festival celebrations and share his knowledge and experience. The Better Block Project was started by Jason in 2010 when he and his friends ‘beauty bombed’ a run down part of their hometown in Dallas, America. 

In a weekend they created a temporary walkable precinct for people of all ages. Overnight they built popup businesses and cafes in vacant buildings, painted biodegradable bike lanes, borrowed and installed trees, strung up lighting and crafted outdoor seating. Rather than simply talking about it, the project showed the city how the block could be revived to improve safety, health and economic opportunity in a rapid timeframe. Since then, Better Block projects have been sparking throughout America with many of the temporary improvements and businesses becoming permanent. http://betterblock.org/

YOU can help make the tour happen!

Your contribution to this campaign will pay for the travel costs to bring Jason Roberts over from the US, the tour coordinator, accommodation, transport, catering, venue hire, workshop material, promotions and evaluation. Our initial target of $13,900 is to cover the basic costs.

The more you contribute - the bigger the tour venues will be, allowing a larger audience to participate. Our ideal target is $17,000. It will enable us to promote the tour more widely and effectively; again ensuring more people can attend. As a result, we hope to see more Victorian communities stepping up and creating their own Better Blocks.

You can also secure a ticket to the workshop at your choice of Tour location as part of our crowd funding rewards!

OUR VISION

We believe that helping like-minded people connect with each other on their own turf is one of the biggest ways to support local change. You just can’t beat the positive energy generated when people meet up to talk about their ideas for a better world.

So our vision is to offer community members and organisations an opportunity to learn about the Better Block approach and then apply it to their own local solutions - like these guys did in America's Fort Lauderdale:

BetterBlockFortLauderdale from C&I Studios on Vimeo.

KEY DATES:

The Tour will kick off at the Sustainable Living Festival’s Big Weekend in Melbourne 15-17 February, 2013. Then we will hit the road to our regional destinations in the second week of the Festival 18^th – 24^th February, 2013.

GET IN CONTACT WITH US!

We’d love to hear from you, if you …

…know of a fantastic venue in either Ballarat, Geelong or Traralgon,

…know of people or organisations that want to get involved in the Tour,

…have suggestions for a perfectBetter Block Project site in Victoria, or

…are a business, and want to donate your products or services to see a Better Block Project happen in your town!

OTHER IMPORTANT INFO:

* we are able to issue you with a tax deductible receipt but only If you opt not to receive any reward for your donation

THANK YOU!

A big warm, cuddle-puddle thank you for your time, your support and for helping this project fly.

We look forward to sharing the full journey of delivering this Tour in February 2013.

From Liz, Safa and the Sustainable Living Festival Team.