Long Beach Launches “Love Your Block” Initiative to Empower Residents and Strengthen Neighborhoods

Long Beach, CA – The City of Long Beach, in collaboration with the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, has launched Love Your Block, a new initiative designed to empower residents to take an active role in enhancing their communities. By joining this national network of cities, Long Beach is reinforcing its commitment to fostering resident-led projects that create lasting, positive change.

“Love Your Block is about bringing people together to build on the strengths of our neighborhoods and empower residents to take the lead in shaping their communities,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “By working directly with the people who live and breathe these spaces every day, we can create solutions that reflect their needs and aspirations. I encourage all residents to get involved and be part of this exciting opportunity.”

A Community-Driven Approach to Change

In its first year, Love Your Block will support the City’s Westside Promise Initiative, a decade-long investment plan aimed at addressing longstanding challenges in West Long Beach. Through strategic partnerships and coordinated city efforts, the program will help align resources to make a meaningful impact on the community.

A key component of the initiative is the establishment of a Civic Deliberation Team, a resident-led group tasked with identifying local priorities, developing action plans, and guiding funding decisions. Through a series of workshops, team members will help shape challenge statements and ensure that mini-grants are allocated to projects that reflect community needs.

To support these grassroots efforts, Love Your Block will provide mini-grants of up to $2,500 for resident-led projects. These grants will empower community members to take action, fostering neighborhood improvements that create a lasting, positive impact.

How Residents Can Get Involved

Long Beach residents—especially those in West Long Beach—are encouraged to participate in several ways, including applying for a mini-grant, joining the Love Your Block Civic Deliberation Team, or volunteering for the initiative. The Love Your Block Interest Form is now open and will remain available for the duration of the program, allowing residents to receive updates, guidance, and resources as they prepare for the grant application launch on Earth Day, April 22, 2025.

“Love Your Block is an opportunity to support resident-led projects that will make a meaningful impact. I look forward to seeing how this program will help strengthen connections and enhance the places we all call home,” said Vice Mayor and Seventh District Councilmember Roberto Uranga.

A National Movement for Neighborhood Revitalization

Long Beach joins a growing network of cities implementing Love Your Block, a program that has already made a significant impact nationwide. Since its inception, the initiative has helped nearly 50,000 residents improve nearly 4,000 public spaces. Across participating cities, community members have created nearly 800 art displays, cleaned 102,000 square feet of graffiti, and removed 6.7 million pounds of trash.

A 2021 study by the Urban Institute highlighted the broader benefits of the program, showing that Love Your Block cities experienced strengthened social cohesion, increased civic engagement, and improved relationships between residents and local government. To date, 50 cities across 33 states have received support through the initiative.

Next Steps

As Love Your Block moves through its development phase, additional details about the mini-grant process and the Civic Deliberation Team will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information and updates, visit the Love Your Block webpage.