Throughout the summer of 2016, with funding from the Knight Foundation, The Musicant Group piloted the Friendly Fronts Project, collaborating with 22 households in St. Paul to provide them with: group trainings, $500 micro-grants, one-on-one advising sessions to support their transformation of their front yards, and finally, we put on a culminating event called the "Friendly Front Yard Festival." During the course of the project, participants created activations in their front yards which included: a stage for musical concerts, barbecue celebrations, lawn and board games, front yard movie nights, a little free toy library & food shelf, a boulevard bench, a fire pit for social gatherings, and more.

The result of this project was a vibrant neighborhood which brought participants out and about and meeting new neighbors through the vehicle of front yard activity. It was clear people were leading engagements in their spaces which were joyful for them, and this allowed for positive interactions with members of their neighborhood.

Additionally, participants reported that:

• They met 5.4 new neighbors on average

• 43% biked and walked more often

• 38% felt safer in their neighborhood (0% less so)

• 71% felt more interested in continuing to live in their neighborhood (0% less so)

Interested in getting started on activating your own friendly front yard? Download our Friendly Fronts Toolkit, below, as a guide! To learn more about the project and to hear from participants themselves, check out our Friendly Fronts Project video below: