Keep DeKalb Beautiful Turns Blight into Art

DECATUR, Ga.— Keep DeKalb Beautiful is working with communities to convert blight into art with its Barriers to Beauty program. The program installs cheerfully painted concrete barriers to prevent illegal dumping in key areas. Its most recent project was installed off of River Road.

“These barriers are used to prevent dumping in key areas, and when they are bare, they look institutional,” said Gordon Burkette, program director of Keep DeKalb Beautiful. “This hands-on project is designed to give young people the opportunity to improve how their own communities look through creativity.”

Barriers to Beauty promotes community involvement and educates citizens about how illegal dumping affects them. Participants spray paint the base of the block, then use recycled signs to create stencils of picket fences, flowers, butterflies and more.

For more information about Barriers to Beauty, or to organize a project, contact Keep DeKalb Beautiful at 404-249-2010 or kdb@dekalbcountyga.gov.

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