More ways to enjoy the neighborhood, look out for one another, and turn good ideas into something real. Explore what’s already underway—and what we’re working toward.
Neighborhood life
Put something good on the calendar.
We’re building a community calendar to bring more of Bixby Knolls into view: local events we gather and share, activities neighbors add, and celebrations we help bring to life. From block parties and gardening days to seasonal traditions and smaller get-togethers, it’ll be one place to see what’s happening around the Knolls.
A few possibilities for the calendar—not scheduled events.
A block party
A little music, games, and time with neighbors.
A gardening day
Plant, tend, and learn something together.
A seasonal celebration
Neighborhood traditions with room for your own spin.
Have an idea for an event we could help bring to life? We’d love to hear it.
We don’t always know what a neighbor is going through. A pot of soup, a helping hand, or a little time to listen can mean more than we’ll ever know.
Community Care builds on that kindness—with practical support and the resolve to stand beside a neighbor when it matters.
Practical kindness
Neighbor to Neighbor
A meal during a difficult week. Help with a small task. Someone who takes the time to listen. We’re shaping ways for neighbors to ask for a hand and offer what they can, with care for each person’s dignity and circumstances.
A better night
Good Glow
Light should help you feel at home without keeping someone else awake. Take the Good Glow checkup for a friendly look at your outdoor lighting—and small changes that can make a better night for you and your neighbors.
We’re also developing practical help with improvements, including for renters and shared spaces.
Stand beside the neighbor. Help make the system better.
When a code complaint is used to intimidate or unfairly target a neighbor, they shouldn’t have to navigate it alone. We’re developing support to understand notices, organize the facts, and help the city see where its processes need to improve. We stand with neighbors who need someone in their corner—and work to make the system better for everyone.
We’re building the Bixby Knolls Beacon: a way to send a clear signal when a neighbor needs help, so nearby people who can lend a hand know where to begin.
Pet Passport is the first Beacon we’re developing. When a beloved pet gets loose, time matters. Preparing their information ahead of time means you can get the word out quickly, without starting from scratch in a scattered collection of neighborhood groups.
Get ready.
Keep a recognizable photo, identifying details, approach notes, and a contact ready in your Pet Passport.
Pet Passport
Photo
Approach notes
Contact
Send the signal.
Activate a Beacon that texts neighbors nearby, starting closest to where your pet was last seen and widening the search over time.
Nearby firstWider over time
Bring more help into the search.
Connect directly with neighbors, generate lost-pet signs automatically, and share the signal through social media.
LOST PET
A tortoise needs a tortoise’s plan.
A dog, a cat, a bird, or a large land tortoise: the information should fit the animal, so neighbors know what to look for and how to approach.
For neighborly help—not medical emergencies or a replacement for emergency services.
Know the Knolls
A clearer picture. A stronger neighborhood.
We’re building ways to understand what’s happening here, follow through on what needs attention, and give more neighbors a say. Public data, local knowledge, and good research can help us make a stronger case for Bixby Knolls.
Closed is not the same as fixed.
From safety concerns to street repairs, we want to track how the city responds—and what actually changes. We’re planning a place to record requests neighbors have already made to city departments, officials, or council members, alongside public data.
Request
What was asked, when, and who received it.
Response
How long it took to hear back, and what the city said.
Real result
What improved, what remains, and what still needs checking.
Together, those records can reveal recurring problems, give good work its credit, and help us press for better results. A dated photo, a request number, or a receipt can help the research begin.
Illustrating a planned approach—not a live request tracker.
Make sense of the money.
Plain answers about city budgets, taxes, utilities, and the cost of services—so neighbors can understand the choices being made and ask better questions.
Where does a property-tax dollar go?
21¢
to the city’s General Fund, on average
In 2022, Long Beach’s finance director explained that the city received about 21 cents of each property-tax dollar, on average. The whole dollar doesn’t go to City Hall.
The General Fund helps pay for everyday services such as parks, libraries, police, and fire.
We’re planning ways to hear from neighbors online, by text, by phone, and through people on their block or in their building. A shift, a full calendar, or a preference for talking shouldn’t keep someone’s experience out of the picture.
What matters in your neighborhood?
Online
Text
Phone
On your block or in your building
Planned listening channels.
Help connect your block or building.
Our planned Block Captain and Building Captain program will help neighbors share invitations, hear what matters on their block or in their building, and bring those experiences into the bigger picture. Renters and owners have the same standing, and anyone can answer directly.
We’ll show what we heard, who we reached, and whose voices are still missing.
A little local curiosity
The day a rock became a block party.
In March 2012, the boulder headed for LACMA’s Levitated Mass stopped on Atlantic Avenue. Bixby Knolls made a celebration of it, with music, art, and activities for kids.
Around here, even a passing rock can give neighbors a reason to come together.
Photoreal reimagining · not an archival photograph.
Little Lanterns
Their kind of bright.
Being young here should mean being part of here. We want their perspective to change the picture.
A drawing, a question, a different way of seeing the block: young people have something to bring now. We’re shaping Little Lanterns around their ideas and the kindness of neighbors who take them seriously, alongside LightLab’s creative work.
An idea a young neighbor could bring
“Could we swap books on our block?”
A place to find a new adventure—and pass a favorite along. Kids could help choose the spot, make the invitation, and shape a book swap with something for every age.
Neighbors could help with a shelf and a place to gather. Young people would help decide how it works, then see their idea become something everyone can enjoy.
One possible Little Lanterns idea, not a project already underway.
The Porch Light
An email you’ll be glad you opened.
Good things coming up. A neighbor’s story worth knowing. A useful answer about the place we share.
The Porch Light is our email newsletter: a way to keep up with Bixby Knolls, find something that catches your eye, and follow what the Commons is bringing to life.
