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.

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Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace

Closer is a conversation about the strategies that make cities social – and why that’s the smartest investment in the urban toolkit.

Chip Chip 12/16/25 Chip Chip 12/16/25

Free Black Woman’s Library

The Free Black Women’s Library is a social art project that features a collection of over 5000 books written by Black women and Black non-binary writers, a free store, a period pantry, a virtual Reading Club, a weekly book swap, and a wide array of workshops and free public programs.

Chip Chip 12/16/25 Chip Chip 12/16/25

Youth Led Libraries of the Future

Youth-led Libraries of the Future is an Urban Design Forum project exploring how young people can help shape libraries as spaces for learning, connection, creativity, and belonging. Working directly with teens, the project developed an arts-based curriculum, a zine archive, and nine youth-led design guidelines—reimagining libraries not simply as places for young people, but as civic spaces created with them.

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Karen Christensen

Karen Christensen is an author, publisher, and community leader whose work spans culture, sustainability, and the power of networks. As the founder of Berkshire Publishing Group, she has long championed ideas and institutions that strengthen communities. Her forthcoming book, written in collaboration with Ray Oldenburg, revisits and reimagines the concept of the “third place” for today’s world.