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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Abra Allan

Abra Allan is Cofounder of Big Creative Consulting and Sidewalk Ballet’s unofficial Foreign Correspondent.

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Chip

Chip is a placemaker, cultural producer, downtown leader, and host of The Sidewalk Ballet, exploring how culture, public life, and the people who shape places come together to make cities.

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BIG Creative Consulting

BIG Creative Consulting works at the intersection of culture, place, and community, helping organizations and communities create stronger, more connected places through strategy, placemaking, engagement, and creative programming.

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Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs was a writer, activist, and urban thinker whose close observation of everyday street life transformed how generations understand cities. Her work challenged top-down planning and championed mixed uses, short blocks, density, and the complex social choreography of sidewalks and neighborhoods. Her description of that choreography gave Sidewalk Ballet its name.