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Lessons Learned With Better Block

Join a conversation with Krista Nightengale, the Executive Director of the Better Block, who has been working with communities to turn parking lots to plazas and slow down streets for the past six years. From building for love, not for fear to using pilots as a way to erase permanency, Krista will explore the world of placemaking.

WHEN Friday, April 29th 11:30am - 12:30pm

WHERE

CONTACT hello@designfortworth.org TICKETS pay what you can - $20 suggested donation

1 AIA, APA/AICP, & ASLA CEU Credits (pending approval)

ABOUT KRISTA NIGHTENGALE

Krista Nightengale is the Executive Director of the Better Block. She began her career at D Magazine, the city magazine in Dallas, where she served as Managing Editor, Executive Director of a leadership group aimed at empowering citizens to take action, and Executive Director of a literacy nonprofit that united the city in reading together. She then served as Chief of Staff of the Coalition for a New Dallas, an advocacy group that worked to reunite communities by removing an elevated highway between two neighborhoods in Dallas. Krista then launched Dallas Innovates, a news site that promotes Dallas-Fort Worth as a hub of innovation. While covering the city, Krista became intrigued by the built environment.

In 2016, she joined the Better Block, an international, urban design nonprofit that educates, equips, and empowers communities and their leaders to reshape and reactivate built environments to promote the growth of healthy and vibrant neighborhoods.

In her six years at the Better Block, Krista has worked with neighbors in more than 75 cities to rethink streets, turn parking lots to plazas, and identify the barriers keeping communities from enjoying their public spaces. She has led study tours in Dallas, Copenhagen, and Malmo and built hundreds of digitally fabricated benches, kiosks, and survey stands. She uses social media to educate around placemaking and transportation, and she’s a pretty adequate drone operator (as long as there’s no wind).

Krista is on the Dallas Comprehensive Land Use Committee, on the steering committee of Big D Reads, a board member of Philanthropy Kids, past-president of the Dallas Architecture and Design Exchange board, former AIA Dallas Board Member, City Lab High School Foundation Advisory Council, Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy cohort for Communities Foundation of Texas, former member of the Dallas Commission on Homelessness, former TEDxSMU steering committee, and a graduate of Leadership Texas.


About Urban Design Talks

CDFW Urban Design Talks are monthly chats for the community to learn, converse and grow in all things urban design. Talks will cover a broad list of topics including tiny homes, water & design, food deserts, the history of housing in Fort Worth, and so much more!


Stay tuned for some of our upcoming Design Talks!

Topics include...

  • Inclusive & Effective Community Engagement with Public Allies

  • Fighting the Flood Conversation - Watershed Urbanism

Interested in Sponsoring a Design Talk? Contact hello@designfortworth.org


About Community Design Fort Worth

Community Design Fort Worth is a nonprofit organization with a mission to enhance the quality of life in Fort Worth communities by:

  • Serving as a resource for design and planning assistance

  • Engaging the public in dialogue about key issues and opportunities

  • Undertaking long-term visioning in anticipation of future challenges




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September 29th | 5:30pm


Join us for an Urban Design Talk focusing on bringing employment opportunities into cities. Brought to you by CDfw and AIAfw

WHEN Wednesday, September 29th (NEW DATE) 5:30-7pm 1.5 AIA , APA/AICP, & ASLA CEU Credits Now Available

WHERE ZOOM, REGISTER NOW! CONTACT hello@designfortworth.org TICKETS pay what you can - $20 suggested donation $35 or more will get you a free copy of Recast Your City By Ilana Preuss ABOUT THE PROGRAM Too many U.S. cities and towns have been focused on a model of economic development that relies on recruiting one big company (such as Amazon), a single industry (usually in technology), or pursuing other narrow or short-term fixes that are inequitable and unsustainable. Some cities and towns were changing, even before the historic retail collapse brought on by COVID-19. They started to shift to a new economic model that works with the community to invest in place in an inclusive and thoughtful way, with short-term wins that build momentum for long-term growth. A secret ingredient to this successful model is small-scale manufacturing. In Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing, community development expert Ilana Preuss explains how local leaders can revitalize their downtowns or neighborhood main streets by bringing in and supporting small-scale manufacturing. Small-scale manufacturing businesses help create thriving places, with local business ownership opportunities and well-paying jobs that other business types can’t fulfill. Preuss draws from her experience working with local governments, large and small and illuminates her recommendations with real-world examples. She details her five-step method for recasting your city using small-scale manufacturing: (1) light the spark (assess what you can build on and establish goals); (2) find and connect (get out of your comfort zone and find connectors outside of your usual circles); (3) interview (talk to people and build trust); (4) analyze (look for patterns and gaps as well as what has not been said); and (5) act (identify short-term actions to help build long-term change). This work is difficult and sometimes uncomfortable, but necessary and critical for success. Preuss supports and inspires change by drawing from her work in cities from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Columbia, Missouri, to Fremont, California. In Recast Your City, Preuss shows how communities across the country can build strong local businesses through small-scale manufacturing, reinvest in their downtowns, and create inclusive economic opportunity. Preuss provides tools that local leaders in government, business, and real estate as well as entrepreneurs and advocates in every community can use. FEATURING

  • Ilana Preuss, Founder & CEO, Recast City

  • Stacy Marshall, President at Southeast Fort Worth Inc

  • Gwen Wilson, City of Fort Worth Department of Diversity and Inclusion


PARTNERS • TCC & their participation with Business Development • Near Southside • Eastside Business Alliance • SE Fort Worth Inc.


Focusing on Development without Displacement around Transit



Join Community Design Fort Worth for the third in a series of Urban Design Talks.




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WHEN

NEW DATE - Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 5:30-7:00 pm


WHERE

Zoom

CONTACT

hello@designfortworth.org

TICKETS

Pay what you can -- $20 suggested donation

$35 for CEUs - AIA, APA & ASLA CEUs available


About this Talk

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a style of urban planning and development that maximizes residential, business + leisure space, and pedestrian activity within a half-mile walking distance of a public transit stop. This type of development is often marked by large communal squares, mixed-use pedestrian-oriented development, and hubs where people congregate rather than simply 'pass through,' such as farmers markets, small parks, and lively streets.


TOD is considered to be a sustainable, smart-growth practice because it both tackles the issue of where growth should occur and coordinates land use and transportation so that both are used efficiently.


TODs also have the ability to be a great economic engine. However, as with any development, there are potential downsides, such as transit-induced gentrification and displacement.


As Trinity Metro works to expand TEXRail and the City of Fort Worth looks to corridors like Lancaster for high capacity transit, our city has an opportunity to improve access, economic opportunities and create a sense of community while protecting the current people who live, work, and play there.


Please join us for this great discussion on Equitable Transit-Oriented Development!





Featured Speakers





Thank you to our sponsors!



About Urban Design Talks

CDFW Urban Design Talks are monthly chats for the community to learn, converse and grow in all things urban design. Talks will cover a broad list of topics including tiny homes, water & design, food deserts, the history of housing in Fort Worth, and so much more!


Stay tuned for some of our upcoming Design Talks...





About Community Design Fort Worth

Community Design | Fort Worth is a nonprofit organization with a mission to enhance the quality of life in Fort Worth communities by:

  • Serving as a resource for design and planning assistance

  • Engaging the public in dialogue about key issues and opportunities

  • Undertaking long-term visioning in anticipation of future challenges



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