An Open Streets Family Reunion: Reflections from the 2018 Open Streets Summit

By Ryan O’Connor, Director of Programs, 8 80 Cities Recently 8 80 Cities wrote a blog post about open streets being a labour of love. That being the case, the 2018 Open Streets Summit in New Orleans felt like a family reunion of sorts. It was rejuvenating to see old and new friends who share our passion for open streets and are working tirelessly to create healthier, happier, and more connected communities across the world. The event, which took place on September 15-16, brought together more than 50 leaders who currently organize open streets programs or are interested in bringing the...

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Open Streets Summit Draft Agenda

We hope you are getting ready and feel excited about the Open Streets Summit in Gretna/New Orleans! Taking place from September 15-16, 2018, the Summit will feature tours, presentations and networking opportunities with open streets champions and organizers from across the continent. Attendees will learn about the nuts and bolts of starting or scaling up open streets programs, including: Route design and planning Partnerships with business and officials Social inclusion Safety and logistics Marketing and promotion Program evaluation through measurable goals and metrics If you haven’t done it yet, click here to register for the Open Streets Summit only or...

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Open Streets Summit Speakers Announced!

The Open Streets Project is proud to announce that Ed Solis from Viva Calle (San Jose, CA), Romel Pascual from CicLAvia (Los Angeles, CA), Jaymie Santiago and Charles Brown from New Brunswick Ciclovia will join us as speakers for the 2018 Open Streets Summit in New Orleans and Gretna! Taking place from September 15-16 2018, the Summit will feature: Behind the scenes tour of the City of Gretna’s inaugural open streets program. Workshops, presentations, and networking opportunities with open streets champions and organizers from across the continent. Training and inspiration for both -novice and experienced- open streets organizers and supporters...

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Top Reads, Week of 5/13

Check out our top three reads of the week. They cover the challenges and opportunities facing American communities right now. This week, we’re reading an excerpt from Alexander Garvin's latest book, contemplating what constitutes a “good job” and learning about health equity in rural America.

LISC Teams Up with Wells Fargo to Spur Small Businesses in Puerto Rico

LISC is working with Wells Fargo on an effort to spur economic recovery across Puerto Rico. A new grant is supporting LISC’s Kiva Puerto Rico Match Fund to help entrepreneurs launch and grow small businesses, while also helping LISC expand its capacity to support disaster recovery nationwide. It builds on LISC's long experience in communities hit hard by major hurricanes, tornados, floods and fires.

“Small Business Is Personal for Us”: Q&A with Julie Huston, CEO of immito

Last year, LISC launched its newest subsidiary, the SBA-guaranteed lender immito, to scale our ability to reach and support underserved small businesses and help spur job growth across the country. Julie Huston, immito’s founding president, is a seasoned small business expert—in fact, she recently testified before Congress re: new budget proposals that would hamper small business entrepreneurs’ access to credit. We caught up with Huston at her base in Denver to learn more about immito, the economic and social power of small business, and why all this is so close to Huston’s heart.