The Sidewalk Ballet Field Guide
The Sidewalk Ballet Field Guide is a growing collection of people, organizations, projects, books, ideas and ongoing conversations about cities and the people who shape them. It grows out of the podcast, but extends well beyond it—connecting the people doing the work, the places where it’s happening, and the ideas, experiments and resources worth carrying forward. Think of it as part reference library, part trail of breadcrumbs: a way to follow the conversation wherever it leads.
Explore by type, browse alphabetically or by date, or search for something specific. Follow the tags to discover connections—or explore the map to see where the people, projects and ideas in the Field Guide take us.
Submersible Embankment Project
In Sunamganj, Bangladesh, communities work with government engineers to build and dismantle portions of a submersible embankment each year—protecting rice crops before harvest while allowing seasonal flooding afterward. The project combines local knowledge, ecological adaptation, and community participation in an unusual model of co-produced infrastructure.
Placemaking Jax
PlacemakingJax is a Jacksonville-based initiative that uses arts, culture, and creative placemaking to bring people together and strengthen the city’s neighborhoods and public spaces. Through public art, events, activations, and community partnerships, the program creates opportunities for residents to experience Jacksonville in new ways while supporting local artists and a more vibrant public realm.
Iffat Baki Bushra
Iffat Baki Bushra is an urban and transportation planner whose work explores infrastructure, mobility, and community participation. She joined Sidewalk Ballet to share her research on a remarkable submersible embankment in Sunamganj, Bangladesh, where local knowledge and community participation are integral to adapting infrastructure to the rhythms of the landscape.
Kady Yellow
Kady Yellow is a creative placemaking practitioner and Vice President of Placemaking and Activations at Downtown Vision in Jacksonville. Through PlacemakingJax and a career spanning public art, Pop-Up Civics, and community-led activation, she works to give people a meaningful role in shaping the places they call home. Also, someone wrote a song about her.