Painted street plazas like this piece by Jessie and Katey for Mural Arts Philadelphia will grace 10 more U.S. cities as part of a new initiative by Bloomberg Philanthropies. | Steve Weinik

Bloomberg Philanthropies? new initiative illustrates how ?asphalt art? makes cities safer and more vibrant Over the last decade, U.S. cities have carved out dozens of public plazas from existing streets using little more than paint. A new grant program and guide announced today by Bloomberg Philanthropies will fund the creation of 10 street murals in 10 U.S. cities, as well as track the safety, economic, and civic impact of these projects.
The Asphalt Art Initiative, which will be presented at the CityLab summit in Washington D.C. today and was shared with Curbed in advance, will award 10 small or mid-sized cities with grants of up to $25,000 to create colorful murals on streets, intersections, and crosswalks, or vertical surfaces of transportation infrastructure like utility boxes, traffic barriers, and highway underpasses. Cities that apply must have populations ranging from 30,000 to 500,000 and must implement the project by the end of 2020. ?It?s not just about art?it?s about creating safe spaces for people for pennies on the dollar,? says Janette Sadik-Khan, transportation principal for Bloomberg Associates. ?This is fast, easy, inexpensive, and transformative.?

Molly Dilworth
Molly Dilworth?s rippling mural helped reimagine Times Square as a car-free ...