Deborah Triplett hangs her own yard art, a “clothesline” tribute to her mother and grandmother, entitled “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone.” Photo courtesy Deborah Triplett. 

Charlotte is a wonderful place to live, thanks to many things and many people. I’m putting the spotlight here on three women whose ideas are making our community even better.

First, meet Deborah Triplett. She’s a fine photographer, an advocate for and volunteer with The Light Factory, and most importantly, she’s the creator of Yard Art Day.

Every Labor Day, Deborah invites Charlotte residents to share their creativity in this community-wide art installation. It’s free. There are no judges. There is, however, a map. First, participants plan and create their art and then add the information to the Yard Art Map on Facebook.

It’s fun to participate, but it’s even more fun to take the map and drive around town and see others’ art. This year, one creative team created a “car-digan” – a car covered with their knitting.

What I especially like about Yard Art Day is the organic nature in which it develops. Deborah launched this idea in 2012, which coincided with the Democratic National Convention being held in the city. She wanted our visitors to see creativity outside of Uptown.

She posted an invitation on Facebook and had 250 participants pinned on the map. There were even more this year. She posts photos. She puts up posts of encouragement. For her, it’s clearly a labor of love that we all benefit from.

In a recent article, Deborah said, “Art should be democratic, accessible and enjoyed by all.”

I think she’s right, and there’s something else interesting here. Yes, there are neighbors talking with neighbors, but also residents exploring new parts of the city just because the art drew them in.

Hats off to Deborah, a true civic innovator!

Aleksandra Borisenko (top); Keihly Moore (bottom). Photos courtesy of the Lawrence Group.

Now, meet Keihly Moore and Aleksandra Borisenko, two young urban planners with the Lawrence Group in Davidson. They’re the local drivers of Park(ing) Day, an annual international event celebrating public spaces. In this case, the public space is a parking space, and on Friday, Sept. 19, six spaces along Tryon Street will be transformed into mini-parks.

Keihly and Alex have created mini-parks before – in SouthEnd and NoDa. This year, however, there will be more spaces, created by more organizations and each will include a Little Free Library. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library will keep books in the library, so everyone is encouraged to take one.

Knight Foundation is chipping in a few dollars to help build the Little Free Libraries, but Center City Partners and the library are working with Keihly and Alex to make the day a success. Teams representing these organizations will create the mini-parks: Discovery Place, Neighboring Concepts, Boxman Studios, U.S. Green Building Council, 505 Design, LandDesign, Perkins+Will, Gensler, UNC-Charlotte School of Architecture, and Design Resource Group.

Both Keihly and Alex have degrees in architecture and planning and design from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and together they’ve created an online tool for visualizing improvements to public spaces. Fans of Price’s Fried Chicken will love their idea for picnic tables outside the front door. No more noshing on greasy chicken in your car! Check out www.completeblocks.com.

Hats off to this pair of civic innovators.

I’m sure we have lots more folks, just like Deborah, Keihly and Alex, and we hope to hear from one and all in the Knight Cities Challenge, which opens in two weeks. We’re looking for ideas to help make the 26 Knight communities, including Charlotte, even more successful. The winning ideas will share in $5 million in the challenge, which is open to anyone, from anywhere. How would you make Charlotte a more livable city? Please share your ideas. Follow the conversation on Twitter with @knightfdn and #knightcities, and apply beginning Oct. 1 at www.knightcities.org.

Susan Patterson is the Charlotte program director for Knight Foundation.