ones backing me, saying, “Keep going because you’re helping us; we’ve been trying to fight these things for years but our hands are tied.”
r: r:
Did this first Oak Cliff Better Block project generate enough interest to revitalize the block? What is the block’s status now?
Roberts: Yes, there are active businesses in that block now. In fact, one of the businesses we set up—an art studio—is still go- ing strong and is the anchor of the neighborhood. We’ve also had about $500,000 in funds allocated to the area to start some of the improvements we’ve recommended.
How did The Better Block catch on in other parts of the country?
Roberts: After the Oak Cliff Better Block project, a friend put an eight-minute video on YouTube that went viral. I didn’t think it would catch on; Better Block just happened to be one of about eight projects I was doing on weekends. However, The Better Block really resonated with people. People kept asking us how we did it, so I put together an
article about how we did it, about the fun parts, about how we got our insurance and our permits, and answered some logisti- cal questions. Then we realized there were other cities beyond Oak Cliff that wanted to do Better Block projects, so we put up a website [betterblock.org], allowing everyone to communicate and learn from each other. Now we’re consulting too; cities will hire us, and that has been fun. We’re really passionate about this idea of training and teaching.
r:
What are you training other cities to do better?
Roberts: We were getting frustrated with the planning process. Most cities invite everyone to a town-hall meeting in which the most polarizing people in the community end up beating each other up until you get this extremely watered-down plan. Then consultants come up with this visioning exercise that costs tens of thousands of dollars, and they draw pretty pictures. Then they put together a bond package and maybe in a couple years they say they’re going to level a building and hope for bond money to build something, but the bond money never happens so they end up with a big hole in the ground. Then years go by and millions of dollars were spent and maybe something happens and maybe nothing happens. Instead of a town-hall meeting, we want citizens to go to the
site of the problem because people really want to pick up ham- mers, nails and paintbrushes. That was my frustration: I don’t want to just look at pictures of how beautiful things could be one day; I want to be able to fix something in 30 days. We proved we could do that with The Better Block, and we proved it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. In fact, money is an obstacle because it creates a fear of permanency; people start thinking, “I only have $1 million so I have to do this right.” If you want creativity, take a zero away from your budget. If you want ultimate creativity and sustainability, take two zeros away from your budget.