Could public art revitalize South Dallas? Nonprofit sees murals as catalyst for change

Los Angeles is partnering with two nonprofits, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC), to accelerate sidewalk repairs ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. LANI has spent over two decades helping council districts fix broken sidewalks more cheaply and flexibly than the city's official process, and LACC pairs the repair work with paid job training for youth ages 18–26, with 30 participants already completing the program.

Macon-Bibb County’s Code Enforcement team is working to lessen blighted properties in the community by alerting property owners of issues that need fixing, such as overgrown grass, broken windows and even abandoned properties, with about a 70-75% success rate.

This city is rising above its history of high rates of crime and poverty by transforming the city with Utopias, where residents can go to do activities like sports, music, arts and other cultural and educational activities for free. There are currently 13 Utopias across the Iztapalapa municipality that see about 100,000 people every week.

Artists need cheap living costs, but their presence improves a community and the property values. The State of Colorado and private developers are creating affordable housing and work spaces for artists in neighborhoods they want to thrive.

The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk region of Connecticut implemented a coordinated anti-sprawl strategy focused on dense, mixed-use development near transit stations and downtown areas, using tactics like zoning reforms and eliminating parking minimums. The approach helped the region jump from the 7th worst for sprawl nationally to the 2nd most compact among mid-sized metros by 2020.

To address issues with the city’s old, slow subway system, Boston's MBTA implemented an aggressive repair and staffing strategy that included replacing 250,000 feet of aging track and expanding the workforce from 5,700 to 8,000 employees through increased wages and sign-on bonuses. As a result, on-time performance soared from 25% to 92%, rider satisfaction nearly doubled, and the system now runs 278 more trains daily.

Salem, South Dakota revitalized its economic development corporation and launched an innovative community-investment model to jumpstart housing development after two derecho storms. Local leaders raised about $1 million through a creative funding mix and purchased land to build complete infrastructure (roads, water, sewer) for a 24-lot subdivision, reducing developer costs and risks. Two years after launching, underground systems are installed, roads are cleared and four of 24 lots have sold.

Nairobi is using a unique restoration technique called the Miyawaki method to restore local ecosystems by creating forest islands in urban areas that have lost their green spaces. Since 2007, this reforestation method has established mini forests in three regions throughout the city, as the project has planted over 236,212 seedlings.

As strip malls continue to decline, some urban planning and real estate experts are advocating to turn the spaces into mixed-use developments with both residential and commercial spaces. This redevelopment is an opportunity to revitalize and enrich a community by creating a village-like setting, like Woburn Village, with its 175,000 square-feet of commercial space and 350 housing units.

AMAZ Xcellent Enterprises addresses waste management issues by transforming trash like tissue paper rolls, used envelopes, and outdated wall calendars into decorative pieces, and useful items like pen stands. For every pen stand made, the organization uses about four tissue paper rolls and has already created more than 100 stands.