The staff of Better Block sits below a mural in their new Oak Cliff office. Photography by Julia Cartwright.
The employees of Better Block had not yet moved into their new office on S. Ewing Avenue when they noticed something.
Around 3:30 p.m. every day, students from neighboring schools would congregate in the parking lot of the Family Dollar next door. The parking lot had become a social scene for the students who didn’t have anywhere else to hang out.
It was exactly the sort of problem Better Block was founded to tackle.
Better Block is an urban design nonprofit that is dedicated to helping communities rethink their neighborhood spaces.
They build pop-up parks, turn abandoned parking lots into plazas, install greenery and shade and get rid of conflict points at intersections, just to name a few past projects.
Krista Nightengale, Better Block’s executive director, says the…
