We highlight here 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 your life and our community even better!

• Why Communities Matter More Than Ever: “Too much focus on individualism makes us indifferent to the suffering of others. Civic engagement is the remedy. When we get engaged, we see the struggles of others who are our neighbors. Then we can be part of the solution.”

• The Citizen Cycle: “James worked with a group of 8 people who are 65+, over 12 sessions, to develop a group identity for a bike gang now called The Bee Bandits. The work developed into a cycling performance, reclaiming space for older people in the city.”

• What Determines the Public Health Outcomes of Cities?: “Safe, well-lit walking paths allow residents to make the choice to walk instead of drive and increase their overall health.”
• Fix Your Intersection, Fix Your City: “Our intersections can be so much more than crosswalks and traffic lights. Improved intersection design makes movement safer and more predictable for everyone. An intersection can also provide all sorts of localized benefits, from saving lives to increasing accessibility to creating public space to improving air quality.”

• Is Car Culture a Toxic Masculinity Problem?: “the tone of car ads took a hard left turn away from the dependable family sedan and towards athletic performance and sleek individualism. The aspirationally gorgeous stay-at-home mom was suddenly forced out of the carpool-lane driver’s seat — and she was replaced with ….”