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oday, Mayor Marty Walsh is announcing the launch of Boston’s new service plan, Engaging Boston. You can read the plan here. An integral part of the new service plan is the incorporation of the Love Your Block Program as a permanent service strategy for civic engagement and neighborhood revitalization. Boston’s expanded iteration of Love Your Block concentrates blight alleviation services in the city by connecting neighborhood cleanup efforts, mini-grant opportunities, online volunteering resources, and community tool libraries.

With support from Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Boston joined the Cities of Service Love Your Block cohort in 2015. The cohort uses the Cities of Service Love Your Block Blueprint, which is a high-impact service strategy that equips mayors and city executives with the tools to engage citizen volunteers and local nonprofits in co-creating solutions to urban blight.

This vacant lot in Boston was once an eyesore with a history of criminal activity. Through the Cities of Service Love Your Block program, citizen volunteers worked together with City Hall to transform this lot into a rock garden.

Through their participation in the Cities of Service Love Your Block cohort, Boston officials saw an opportunity to unify multiple engagement strategies under one Love Your Block initiative, creating multiple channels for residents to address local challenges. Boston’s comprehensive citywide service plan reflects this unification, effectively directing city resources across agencies and empowering Bostonians to work with the City and one another.

Thanks to the leadership of Jerome Smith, Chief of Civic Engagement, and Kiara Fox, Senior Adviser on Civic Engagement, Boston has successfully engaged citizens to significantly improve their own neighborhoods, one block at a time. Read more about Love Your Block in Boston.

Citizen volunteers in Boston revitalized Egleston Square through a Cities of Service Love Your Block service project.