Friendly Front Yards Toolkit & Resources
Creating Community One Front Yard at a Time
Friendly Fronts Project Background
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?
Explore our Friendly Fronts Toolkit, below.
Friendly Fronts Toolkit
The Friendly Fronts Toolkit inspires and guides individuals and entire communities alike on how to turn their front yards into places where serendipity happens, where children play, where food is grown, prepared and eaten, where social capital is built, where civic issues are debated, where relationships are fostered; where passthrough spaces are transformed into places where we feel deeply rooted.
There has never been a more important time for us all to engage in the exact place where we live; to “build community one front yard at a time”. The toolkit translates our successful pilot project into a nation-wide movement that catalyzes an explosion of social capital, joy, and a renewed agency around how we can all “create places where we feel alive”.
The “Big Six” of Friendly Front Yards
In order to create a Friendly Front Yard, or really, comfort in any space, people generally like to have the following six things in a place in order to want to remain there:
1. Add (Moveable) Seating
Providing moveable seating, in particular, creates flexibility for users, allowing them to position themselves most comfortably and interact with the space in a way which best accommodates their needs.
2. Protect Your Back
Having a structure behind you and protecting your back prevents being surprised and ensures a good view out into the rest of the space and the activities happening there.
3. Use Semi-Enclosures
Spaces which are too open make us feel exposed; too closed, and we feel cut off or trapped. A semi-enclosure, such as a good porch or a cozy booth at a restaurant, feels good.
4. Have Many Things To Do
While creating great places, make sure there are things to do, and place activities close enough together so that there's spillover from one activity to the next.
5. Consider Climate
Factor in how sun, shade, cold and precipitation interact with the planned activities in your spaces to ensure the best experiences for the people inhabiting them.
6. Active Edges
Having activities along the border of a space connects and attracts people from different areas of that space, lending to flow and interactivity.
Get Involved
Individuals:
The more Friendly Fronts in your area, the stronger your community. Find and meet others who are transforming their fronts into places of community, safety, fun and connection.
Apartment Owners:
Read our Friendly Fronts Toolkit to learn how to create tenant engagement and in turn increase safety and decrease turnover. Seek trainings and workshops on placemaking. Decrease maintenance, as tenants have increased pride in their home and community.
Community Organizations:
Build social capital, cohesion and inclusion through the broad adoption of Friendly Fronts in your community. Seek training for your group on how to connect with your neighbors. Work with our team to provide an activity for your next neighborhood event!
News Coverage of Friendly Front Yards
Twin Cities Pioneer Press (2016 article)
"Out of the dozen or so finalists for the Knight Foundation's largest annual contest, the "friendly front lawns" project generated - by far- the most local buzz, foundation officials said in April.' The pitch: Get people out of their back yards and into their front yard seen as "dead spaces"
Star Tribune (2016 article)
St. Paul effort seeks to make front yards welcoming places.
"Relationships are built and strengthened, " Musicant said. "There are more eyes on the street...and it becomes a safer place."
Fast Company (2016 article)
"The Knight Cities Challenge just gave out $5 million to winning ideas from civic innovators to help 26 particular American cities, from Detroit to Macon, Georgia
But there's no reason these ideas can't be used elsewhere. Here are six of the 37 winning projects that other cities might want to steal."
