The Walls Project

The Walls Project leads programs, events, and alliances that work to break through and tear down the societal walls that discourage or prevent people from living safe, healthy, and prosperous lives. Walls offers a bold vision for what's possible in a community, creating pathways for economic prosperity; lifetime learning and creative expression; and healthy living for all, particularly for those impacted by poverty.

Walls was founded on the belief that the physical, social, and economic conditions of individuals ultimately and collectively inform the overall safety, health and well-being, and economic conditions of communities. Walls offers a bold vision for what's possible in a community, creating pathways for economic prosperity; lifetime learning and creative expression; and healthy living for all, particularly those impacted by poverty. Walls’ work— workforce development, urban agriculture, public art, and community reactivation—positions it to facilitate critical employment opportunities, addressing today’s community needs while positioning people to be tomorrow’s problem-solvers and project leaders.

Walls works in geographic areas suffering from poverty, blight, unemployment, underemployment, crime, declining property values, and unstable business environments, seeking to Enlight, Unite, and Ignite communities for positive change. Walls envisions communities where all residents can chart a course of action and exercise reasonable control over the outcomes of their lives.● Walls Enlights by working with those in need to envision the future and its possibilities.
● Walls Unites by convening key stakeholders, identifying and testing social and economic barriers and challenges, and finding ways to break through, take down, go over, or go around those barriers.
● Walls Ignites collective action by centering the lived experiences of focus populations, joining or developing action teams and impact programs, leading activities toward actional outcomes, and establishing pathways to sustainability.

Since 2012, Walls Project has provided integrated programs and events, contributing an estimated $3.5M in economic growth to Louisiana’s capital city, Baton Rouge; then, in 2019, Walls began to work in Dallas, Texas. In both markets, Walls works to improve the quality of life and expand economic opportunity for residents by inspiring civic leaders, business owners, volunteers, and families to create a sense of place, position themselves for 21st-century careers, and actively invest in where they live and work.