Our Friday update here at kickstART farmington highlights some great articles we’ve read this week dealing with art, creative placemaking, and building great communities. You’re sure to find some inspiration to make our community even better!

1. Top 10 Reasons for a New American Dream: Contrary to conventional wisdom, urban streets are significantly safer than leafy suburbs and rural areas…. The number one US cause of death from ages 5 to 34 is automobile crashes … Deadly automobile crashes are far less likely on lower-speed urban streets.

2. Creative placemaking is driven by the idea that shaping the physical and social character of a neighborhood around arts and culture animates public places and attracts new businesses.

3. Just Like Me: Explore, Imagine, Create … features images and paintings of children from diverse periods and cultures, encouraging young ones to reflect on the similarities and differences between their lives and those of families in other times and places.

4. On Resilient Cities: People are the glue and any city without a tightly knit social infrastructure can build all of the physical infrastructure it wants and still fall short in times of shocks and stresses.

5. You’ll likely identify with the 8 reasons you might like a small city in this video by Gracen Johnson.