Columbia Selected to Join Love Your Block Initiative

Mayor Daniel J. Rickenmann has announced the City of Columbia has been selected to join Love Your Block, an initiative led by the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, to launch resident-led projects that improve their cities.

As one of just 25 new local governments from 20 U.S. states to join the latest edition of the program, the City of Columbia will receive $70,000 to engage residents in efforts that clear vacant lots, reclaim public space, and better their communities, as well as expert support from the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation and a dedicated Love Your Block Fellow to support their work — and build trust in local government.

“I am proud that the City of Columbia has been named a Love Your Block Grant Program recipient for 2026-2028. Revitalizing neighborhoods and fostering vibrant, equitable communities is one of my top priorities and is essential to improving quality of life and opportunities, especially in historically underinvested areas,” Rickenmann said. “The city is committed to working with local stakeholders to ensure residents are actively involved in planning and implementation to create positive, lasting change for Historic Booker Washington Heights, Eau Claire/Belmont, and the greater Columbia community. Thank you, Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, for investing in Columbia and supporting our efforts to innovate and find community-driven solutions.”

The new 25 Love Your Block city halls include Albuquerque, New Mexico; Aurora, Illinois; Birmingham, Alabama; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Columbia, South Carolina; Deerfield Beach, Florida; Dubuque, Iowa; Eugene, Oregon; Everett, Washington; Frederick, Maryland; Greensboro, North Carolina; Harlingen, Texas; Hoboken, New Jersey; Honolulu, Hawaii; Jersey City, New Jersey; La Crosse, Wisconsin; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Lansing, Michigan; Macon, Georgia; Mobile, Alabama; Newark, New Jersey; South Fulton, Georgia; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wilmington, Delaware; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

They join a broader national program that, since its founding in 2009, has helped 50 local governments engage more than 88,000 residents across 33 states to remove more than 7 million pounds of trash, clean over 550,000 square feet of graffiti, create nearly 800 art displays, and transform the areas residents rely on most. These results have also been shown to build ties between city halls and their citizens: a 2021 study by the Urban Institute found that participating Love Your Block municipalities improved social cohesion among residents, increased civic participation, and strengthened relationships between local government and the people it serves.

“Residents often have the clearest view of what their neighborhoods need—and Love Your Block helps mayors and municipalities bring them into the work—and see those ideas through,” said Francisca M. Rojas, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins. “That translates to tangible improvements communities want—and that they lead—with their city hall’s support, and shows what happens when local government invites the public in to solve problems and deliver, together.”

For more information, visit https://publicinnovation.jhu.edu/programs/love-your-block/.