Beautification is the process of making visual improvements to a town, city, or urban area. This most often involves
planting trees, shrubbery, and other greenery, but frequently also includes adding decorative or historic-style street lights and other lighting and replacing broken
pavement, often with brick or other natural materials. Old-fashioned
cobblestone
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
s are sometimes used for crosswalks; they provide the additional benefit of slowing motorists.
Beautification projects are often undertaken by
city councils to refurbish their downtown areas, in order to boost tourism or other commerce. Often, this is also spurred by broken sidewalks, which pose a safety hazard for
pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
s and potentially insurmountable obstacles for
wheelchair users. These projects are frequently part of other larger projects such as construction, especially in conjunction with ones for transit, such as streets and roads and
mass transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
.
The
Laurel Hill Association of
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is h ...
, founded in 1853, is the oldest incorporated village beautification society in the
United States.
The
Memphis City Beautiful Commission, the oldest city beautification project in the United States, was established in 1930.
See also
*
Aesthetics
**
Urban life
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
**
Landscape design
*
Beautification and conservation plant
*
City Beautiful movement
*
The Ugly Indian
References
Urban studies and planning terminology
Aesthetic beauty
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