One year ago, the curriculum building began for the 10-year ambition to share knowledge and equip changemakers to build a better block. Last month, the first cohort graduated.
The nonprofit Better Block recently completed the first run of Better Block University (BBU), supported by donations from the Roger I. and Ruth B. MacFarlane Foundation and the Communities Foundation of Texas. The BBU program was created to equip others with the knowledge to design and implement projects for public safety in their own communities.
Senior project manager Marissa Lopez was one of the main contacts for students through the BBU process. She said development for the course took from December 2024 to February 2025, with the application following to select the first cohort.
Students that applied were “a mix for sure.”
“Some worked within cities, some worked for a nonprofit, some worked in schools or in higher education,” she said. “Definitely a mix of background, professional backgrounds for sure, but what they all had in common was wanting to create spaces in their community.”
Qualifications for applicants included “some baseline things”, such as being 18 years and older, but Lopez said for BBU they were focused on looking for people involved in their individual communities with an idea for what they wanted to transform.
“The overall goal for BBU is to guide them through community informed, temporary transformations of spaces or streets in their community,” she said. “So that’s looking at, what is their current role in the community, what vision do they have for a space and are they willing to go through this process?”
That process was four classes over the course of six months, with the first one held in Dallas on May 1, 2025. The other three were taught remotely with four guest speakers over the course of the curriculum for the 12 students.
“Basically each class went through our process in detail, so they have an understanding of what they can bring to their community, or how they can shape their project and also understand what is a better block,” Lopez said. “How can I have this knowledge now, how can I bring this into my community within my own project?”
Those projects came with the deadline of Oct. 31 for the cohort, with students experiencing varying issues from difficulty with permitting to timing issues between their individual community and the BBU deadlines.
“Every community is different, every process within that community is different, so some were a little further behind. Some were ahead,” Lopez said. “As those changes happened we wanted to make sure that we were there to support them, but also they’re experts … they’re all professionals and a lot of them were able to navigate these issues on their own.”
Some of the BBU students’ experiences related to the nonprofit’s experiences too.
“It was kind of, not validating, but it was interesting to see the students going through some road blocks that we get sometimes,” she said. “Time line is a big thing. Permitting can take so long, but besides that, putting paint on streets is always a challenge. Every city is different.”
With projects complete and the first cohort graduated, Better Block is now looking for the potential to run BBU once again.
So far, feedback has included that the experience helped the students feel empowered to do this work in their communities. One BBU graduate even plans to run for mayor following the experience.
“This is just an amazing experience for us, to be able to offer something like this, but also to be able to learn from these students as well because they’re within the industry in many ways,” Lopez said. “It’s great to learn from others around the nation as well.”
Although students came from across the country, four projects are here in North Texas. Visit betterblock.org/bbu to learn more about the completed projects.
