--- title: What the Better Block Project Teaches Us About Community, Hospitality, and Showing Up description: SSA Group reflects on lessons from Jason Roberts of the Better Block Project and what hospitality leaders can learn about initiative, community spaces & guest experience. image: https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/jason-roberts-echo-conference-better-block-project.png --- [Skip to content](https://blog.thessagroup.com/jason-roberts-on-community-spaces-for-hospitality-leaders-ssa#main-content) [![SSAGroup-2026Logo-Black](https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/Assets%20-%20June2026/images/SSAGroup-2026Logo-Black.svg)](https://thessagroup.com/) - [Who We Are](https://thessagroup.com/who-we-are/) - [Our Services](https://thessagroup.com/what-we-do/) - [Industries We Serve](https://thessagroup.com/what-we-do/) - News & Insights - [Blog](https://blog.thessagroup.com) - [Case Studies](https://landing.thessagroup.com/case-studies-ssa-group) - [Careers](https://thessagroup.com/careers/) [Talk to Our Team](https://thessagroup.com/contact/) # What the Better Block Project Teaches Us About Community, Hospitality, and Showing Up [Tera Greenwood](https://blog.thessagroup.com/author/tera-greenwood) June 2nd , 2026 ![\What the Better Block Project Teaches Us About Community, Hospitality, and Showing Up\](https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/jason-roberts-echo-conference-better-block-project.png) ## You Don’t Need a Plan. You Need a Weekend. The best strategies I’ve seen in this industry didn’t start in a boardroom. They started with someone willing to try something before they had permission. I’ve always believed in asking forgiveness, not permission. Jason Roberts built a career and a movement proving exactly why that works. His session at the ECHO Conference hosted by Tessere, “Reimagining Places, Reimagining Community,” offered a powerful reflection on leadership, experimentation, and the role experience plays in creating momentum. ## Lessons in Leadership from the Better Block Project Jason Roberts is the founder of the [Better Block Project](https://www.betterblockproject.com/), a grassroots urban placemaking movement that transforms community spaces in cities worldwide. His keynote at ECHO wasn’t a polished [Ted Talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HTkBTnZ9D4). It was a story: from IT guy to civic entrepreneur, from one rundown theater to a movement that has spread from Dallas to Australia and beyond. The through-line? Start small. Make it feel real. Let people experience the possibility, then let that feeling do the work. ## Key Insights **Lead with theexperience, then back it with data.** Every time Jason tried to convince a city council or skeptical neighbor with numbers alone, it stalled. Every time he showed them what a [community space](https://communityspaces.org/) could feel like—shade trees, outdoor seating, music, life —things moved. He didn't argue for the Better Block. He built it for a weekend and let people feel the loss when it was gone. At SSA, we know both matter. Data tells us what's working. But experience is what moves people to act, partners, guests, and teams alike. When we're designing the guest journey, we're not just managing throughput. We're curating feelings. [One Revenue Strategy](https://blog.thessagroup.com/cultural-attractions-revenue-strategy?hsLang=en) works because it connects both the emotional resonance of [452 Hospitality](https://vimeo.com/1179377494?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci) and the performance intelligence that makes it sustainable. Collaboration unlocks what budgets alone can't.  Jason didn't wait for the perfect budget to start. He borrowed trees from a construction project, found a free piano on Craigslist, and rallied neighbors who each brought something different to the table. The magic wasn't scarcity; it was co-ownership. At SSA, this is how we think about partnership. One Revenue Strategy isn't about spending more or less; it's about ensuring every investment works harder by unifying all guest revenue touchpoints into a single, aligned system. When the guest journey is integrated, resources go further, and results follow. You don’t need credentials to lead. You need to show up. Jason wasn’t a planner, an architect, or a policy expert. He was the IT guy who played in a rock band. He showed up to neighborhood meetings, built a website for a transit authority that had no other members, and became president of a theater board because he asked how he could help. Passion and presence were the only prerequisites. That’s the leadership model I keep coming back to in our work. The best operators I’ve seen aren’t waiting for someone to hand them a plan. They’re identifying what’s missing and starting something, even imperfect, even temporary. **The neighborhood is the point.** At the end of Jason’s talk, he shared that he was diagnosed with stage three cancer. And the neighbors he’d built a community with, through bike rides, block parties, and borrowed trees, showed up at his door. They took his kids out. They filled his fridge. They held him up. That’s not a feel-good footnote. That’s the entire thesis. The projects were the vehicle. Community was the destination. ## Strategic Takeaways and Why They Matter **Test before you commit.** The [Better Block Project](https://www.betterblockproject.com/)principle is a prototype mindset. Before a full culinary overhaul or a new retail concept, find the equivalent of a weekend experiment. Staff an experience differently for one event. Change the flow through one space. See how it feels. **Align the environment, not just the service.** Jason showed that misaligned streets, missing shade, and bad zoning could kill a block no matter how good the businesses were. In our world, misaligned revenue streams create friction that no amount of good service can fully fix. That’s the case for One Revenue Strategy. **Lead with heart, then bring the data.** Show partners what’s possible. Don’t start with a pitch deck, start with a story that makes them feel what the guest could feel. ## Closing Thought Jason once said he became the president of a theater board just because he asked if he could help. And they threw him the keys. That’s a model I think about a lot. In every partner relationship, there’s a moment where someone decides whether to show up fully or stay safe. The work that lasts, the community spaces that come alive, the attractions that become part of people’s lives, happen when someone chooses to show up. **That's what 452 Hospitality asks of all of us, to show up with the intention of creating special moments that have a lasting impact. Not just for the guest in front of us, but for the partners and communities we serve.**   Share ![Tera Greenwood](https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/Tera.png) ### About the Author #### Tera Greenwood Tera Greenwood is Executive Vice President of Brand & Relationships at the SSA Group, where she leads brand strategy, marketing, and business development. She drives how SSA shows up in the market, connecting brand to revenue and growth across its partner ecosystem. Tera champions 452 Hospitality, SSA’s ethos which aligns people, systems, and innovation to create meaningful guest experiences and lasting stability for cultural attractions. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Brandan, her son, Grayson, and their dog, Lucky. Stay Connected ## Enjoyed This Article? Get more insights on guest experience, attraction operations, hospitality trends, and revenue growth delivered straight to your inbox. ## Related Posts [![Retail worker for ssa group working at the Oklahoma City Zoo during record breaking attendance.](https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/Blog%20option%201.png)](https://blog.thessagroup.com/oklahoma-city-zoo-record-breaking-attendance?hsLang=en) 23rd September, 2026 ### [Inside Oklahoma City Zoo’s Record-Breaking Year](https://blog.thessagroup.com/oklahoma-city-zoo-record-breaking-attendance?hsLang=en) [Read More](https://blog.thessagroup.com/oklahoma-city-zoo-record-breaking-attendance?hsLang=en) [![A woman and her daughter are in shopping in a zoo gift shop.](https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/Landing%20Page.png)](https://blog.thessagroup.com/guest-experience-trends-2026?hsLang=en) 22nd September, 2026 ### [What 25,228 Guest Reviews Reveal About the Attraction Experience](https://blog.thessagroup.com/guest-experience-trends-2026?hsLang=en) [Read More](https://blog.thessagroup.com/guest-experience-trends-2026?hsLang=en) [![Interior of Longneck Manor’s luxury lodging with a family watching giraffes through floor-to-ceiling windows, overlaid with the text “Longneck Manor.”](https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/hospitality-accommodations-texas.png)](https://blog.thessagroup.com/longneck-manor-how-a-giraffe-hotel-in-texas-creates-deeper-guest-experiences?hsLang=en) 26th August, 2026 ### [What Longneck Manor Teaches Us About Turning a Stay Into an Experience](https://blog.thessagroup.com/longneck-manor-how-a-giraffe-hotel-in-texas-creates-deeper-guest-experiences?hsLang=en) [Read More](https://blog.thessagroup.com/longneck-manor-how-a-giraffe-hotel-in-texas-creates-deeper-guest-experiences?hsLang=en) Links - [Who We Are](https://thessagroup.com/who-we-are/) - [Our Services](https://thessagroup.com/what-we-do/) - [Our Industries](https://thessagroup.com/what-we-do/) - [Careers](https://thessagroup.com/careers/) [Talk to Our Team](https://landing.thessagroup.com/connect-with-ssa-group?hsLang=en) Contact Information [info@thessagroup.com](mailto:info@thessagroup.com) [303-322-3031](tel:3033223031) 4624 Central Park Blvd. Suite 100 Denver, CO 80238 Subscribe ### Let’s stay connected! 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