This Sunday 27 October will see a phenomena sweeping the world come to Sydney when a demonstration event where a local community changes its street for the day to make it greener, safer and more liveable.
The Clovelly Road Better Block campaign will see a normally car-dominated intersection transformed through the addition of trees, plants, tables, chairs, art, music, bike and pedestrian infrastructure for one day only. The aim is to slow traffic and thereby create an urban innovation zone, also known as 'urban acupuncture'.
Clovelly Road block between Arden and Beach streets will be the latest iteration of the Better Block idea started in the US a few years back. There's now been 40 Better Blocks in the US.
The aims of the Better Block are to bring the community together, encourage people to re-imagine their street and invite them to add their ideas and to turn those ideas into something that people can see, touch and feel.
Ultimately, the idea is to show local councils and politicians people are keen for change. The activation aims to create momentum for improvements to be made permanently and inspire others to push for change where they live.
Better Blocks have worked because they're quick, light and cheap. The Better Block US site has more of the thinking behind it.
There's big changes happening to streets worldwide. You can see the innovations that Australia is missing out in these videos and pics.http://www.youtube.com/user/ClovellyRoadTV/videos
