In 2013, the Better Block team of Dallas, Texas attended Melbourne's Sustainable Living Festival to better understand the needs of Australians and promote their message of walkability, mobility, and sustainability. That October, neighbors of Clovelly Road in Sydney quickly seized this call to action, ready to reimagine their own block as safer, greener, and more livable neighborhood destination for a single day. At the heart of their efforts was a long-term vision for a walkable, verdant retail corridor linking Sydney’s inland Centennial Park to the Pacific Ocean at Clovelly Beach. With the help of dozens of local businesses along with extensive and persistent outreach, the event fostered a great sense of cohesion within the community. Event planners enlisted the support of design professionals, community groups, local businesses, and hundreds of volunteers who supplied the various elements ranging from potted landscaping, live music, and pop-up stores to back massages, coffee, bike repair, custom seating, and brick-and-mortar gallery space. Event planners believe the attendance ranged somewhere from two to three thousand people in a strong showing of support for a Better Block in their corner of the city. 

Photo credits, from left: Elin Bandmann via Facebook, Louise Hawson via Flickr, Clovelly Road via Facebook , Clovelly Road via Facebook, Clovelly Road via Facebook, Louise Hawson via Flickr 

Follow Better Block Clovelly Road 

Website: betterblock.org/clovelly-road-better-block-sydney-australia

Facebook: facebook.com/ClovellyRoad

Twitter: @clovellyroad