Join us virtually for this stop on the Strong Towns Local-Motive Tour 2024, featuring Strong Towns Chief of Staff Carlee Alm-LaBar and guest speakers Azael Alvarez and Jonathan Zoccoli, from the Better Block Foundation.
LOCATION: Online Event | DATE: October 31, 2024 | TIME: Noon CDT
How many of us would love to stroll to an inviting public plaza in the evenings or meet up with friends at a nearby beer garden? How many of our neighborhoods actually have these sorts of places in abundance? Building third places — social spaces that foster community interaction and productive engagement — doesn't need to be expensive or take years to enact. Better Block is a world-renowned placemaking organization that's been successfully quick-building third places and safer streets across the continent for years. In this session, Better Block’s Jonathan Zoccoli and Azael Alvarez — a landscape designer and project manager, respectively — will join Carlee Alm-LaBar of Strong Towns to teach practical strategies for creating third places and getting the community buy-in needed to do so. This session promises to be a treasure trove of knowledge for anyone interested in building more productive places where everyone feels welcome.
Azael is the Project Manager for the Better Block Foundation, an international urban design non-profit dedicated to creating vibrant, walkable communities. With over a year of experience at Better Block, he has led various projects aimed at transforming public spaces and engaging communities in urban revitalization efforts. Before joining Better Block, Azael worked in the demolition industry, which gave him a unique perspective on the potential for urban renewal. He has a passion for urban planning and design, and has extensively studied these fields independently, staying current with the latest trends to inform his work.