Theory is great. In fact it is often necessary for action to be grounded in solid theory. But then what? How do you move from theory to action? What does the end result look like? Confronting such questions is what this section is all about. Here you will find tools that other practitioners and communities have employed, as well as examples of projects that have been finished successfully.

Take a look.

Tested Programs / Best Practices / Tool Kits

• Downtown South Bend Holiday Pop-Up Shop Program – See how the City of South Bend, Indiana transformed dark storefronts into enlivened spaces.
• Neighbor’s Wanted Program (Detroit) – Detroit takes on urban blight to draw residents back to the urban core and solve a vacant and abandoned housing issue.
• National Main Street Program (U.S.) – Find a methodology, tool kits, and a set of best practices to restoring main streets in towns and cities.
• Tactical Urbanism – This document published by the CNU’s NextGen and The Street Plans Collaborative defines tactical urbanism and provides 12 tactical urbanism project overviews.

Imaginings
Projects that do not exist — yet, but that serve as powerful thought exercises and we hope, inspirations to action.

• Ecclesiastical Sprawl Repair Project – Architect Will Dowdy conceptualizes a way to bring suburban churches back into the public square.