The City Repair Project is group of citizen activists creating public gathering places and helping others to creatively transform the places where they live.
City Repair’s projects:
inspire people to both understand themselves as part of a larger community and fulfill their own creative potential, and
activate people to be part of the communities around them, as well as part of the decision-making that shapes the future of their communities.
The many projects of City Repair have been accomplished by a mostly volunteer staff and the help of hundreds of volunteer citizen activists.
City Repair was formed in Portland, Oregon in 1996 by citizen activists who wanted a more community-oriented and ecologically sustainable society. Born out of a successful grassroots neighborhood initiative that converted a residential street intersection into a neighborhood public square, City Repair began its work with the idea that localization (of culture, of economy, of decision-making) is a necessary foundation of sustainability. By reclaiming urban spaces to create community-oriented places, we plant the seeds for greater neighborhood communication, empower our communities and nurture our local culture.
Michael Becker, Oregon's 2007 Middle School Teacher of the Year, shares his story of teaching key concepts of sustainability while addressing state benchmarks and improving academic performance through field-based, experiential curriculum. Under his direction, Hood River Middle School's Outdoor Classroom Project has transformed the schoolyard and become a national model for linking curriculum with real-world application.
Doors open at 6:30 for snacks and tea, presentation and discussion from 7-9pm
Cost - $10 at the door, free with PSU student ID
Call 503-351-2075 for more info.
We are proud to announce that we are now accepting proposals for community building projects for the 10th annual 10-day Village Building Convergence (VBC10) held from May 28th -June 6th 2010.
As you may or may not know, every year City Repair helps many communities around the greater Portland area gather their community together to collectively transform the uncultivated spaces that surround them into rich vibrant gathering places that strengthen the community. City Repair facilitates this "place-making" activity of transforming "spaces" into "places" year-round, but it is during the annual Village Building Convergence that most of the place-making activity takes place. Whether it's an intersection repair project, an outdoor classroom, or just a neighborhood bench, we welcome all ideas and would love to help turn your vision into reality.
Anyone interested in doing some form of community-oriented place-making project during the VBC is welcomed and encouraged to submit a Request For Proposal (RFP). Everyone that submits a RFP by the January 29th 2010 deadline that meets our requirements will automatically be accepted to join our planning process in which the place-making team will provide in-depth, weekly training and support to help your project succeed with flying colors. Even if you have no idea what you'd like to see happen in your neighborhood or community, please feel free to peruse and fill out the RFP form and we will be more than happy to help you get the ball rolling, the sparks flying, and the under-utilized space transforming into vibrant welcoming space!!!
The VBC is a 10-day event held each spring, where a convergence of citizens, natural builders and activists come together to help neighborhoods design and build their own community amenities. Working together, we can turn our neighborhoods into Villages - one workparty at a time!
VBC9 included hands-on education in permaculture design and construction, ecological building, and public art. All projects were built through collaboration, community conversations and commitment of a neighborhood to strengthen itself. Everyone was invited to attend evening events at a central location, to participate in workshops or listen to visionaries speak about various aspects of sustainable culture.
VBC9 featured projects located in or adjacent to the public right of way and private projects that support community in various neighborhoods. Private site projects were structures or systems built by and available to the communities concerned with that site, and hopefully available to some extent to the larger community. These included public squares and meeting houses, community kiosks and benches, solar-powered and artistic innovations, and many others. Each project was initiated and managed by neighborhood groups with support from the VBC Placemaking Committee. The Placemaking coordinators helped neighborhoods facilitate and coordinate the outreach/public involvement process, community decision-making and design workshops, and the permit process with the City.
The VBC9 Theme - Momentum: Powered by the People - was chosen to reflect the collaborative energy and creative forces that citizens can build together. We generated momentum that strengthens the community voice throughout Portland and beyond.
We loved our venue and collaboration with the New Day School this year. VBC9 evening events were held at the New Day School Annex, located at 1847 SE Clinton Street, Portland, OR 97202.
An Evening with Tom Ward: Permaculture for Transition
Friday, October 16th from 7:30-9:30pm
Portland State University’s Food For Thought Café,
FFT Café is located in the basement level of Smith Student Union, 1825 SW Broadway
Snacks and beverages will be provided.
Free with PSU ID. Suggested $5 donation for non-students—no one turned away
The discussion will explore how the principles of Permaculture can provide guidance to make a local transition to a way of life in balance with nature, through knowledge of whole systems design. Tom will focus on strategies for making the community transition to a locally resilient, low-energy, low-carbon future, sharing stories form his experience with Transition Town Ashland and City Council goals setting.
Tom Ward, an expert ethnobotanist, eco-forester, and Permaculture designer with extensive multi-cultural experience in the U.S. and overseas, is the author of Greenward Ho! Herbal Home Remedies: An Ecological Approach to Sustainable Health. He has taught Permaculture Design courses for over twenty years and specializes in the Southern Oregon and Northern California region.
This event is sponsored by the PSU Permaculture Guild. Email permaculture@pdx.edu for more information on future meetings, events and community project opportunities.
Location
PSU’s Food For Thought Café
1825 SW Broadway basement level of Smith Student Union
The Transition Initiative in Portland invites you to meet with us to begin planning and organizing an effort to build community resilience in the face of climate change, rising energy costs and economic decline. Building on work started by many organizations, we will put into action energy descent planning around a variety of aspects; neighborhood organizing; coalition building with partner groups; and a holistic vision of how we can cope with major changes in our lives.In the process we will create stronger communities and more satisfying lives based on sharing and cooperation.
You’re welcome to come whether you are already committed or just curious about the possibilities.If you’re working with a neighborhood or a group with a related mission, we invite you to come and explore how different groups and communities can network and link together in a shared effort to build a lower-carbon future.Also, we urge you to circulate this notice to your group and anyone else you think should be there.
Keynote speaker Friday evening, September 25, 7:30 pm.Karen Lanphear s a co-founder of the Sandpoint Transition Initiative in Idaho.She believes that within each community there lies an enormous pool of power that can be unleashed when people start working together on a common vision, and that education and building strong community coalitions can change the world.Her presentation will include what is unique about the Transition model, Sandpoint’s experience in developing it, and their main challenges and how they came up with solutions. Karen’s talk will be followed by a social in the church dining hall downstairs.$10 donation, no one turned away.
How Can We Build a Resilient Portland?An Open Space Day, Saturday, September 26, 9:00-5:00.Bring your ideas,passions and enthusiasm and participate in designing the movement – suggesting what is needed and discussing how to make it happen. This powerful process will enable us to walk out at the end of the day with a road map for creating our future.Coffee, tea and snacks will be available.Lunch will be brown bag or at nearby cafes.No charge for the day but donations appreciated.
Location:St. Francis Church, 1182 S.E. Pine Street, Portland (map)
What we choose to focus on is up to you.The Open Space format enables the people who come to create the agenda.Anyone can suggest a topic to discuss on Saturday based on the theme of creating resilience.If people choose to show up and discuss that topic, and to create an action team,it will become a part of the overall project. Some examples of projects that have emerged in other Transition Towns are
Food
Transportation
Housing
Health and wellbeing
Arts and Music
ReSkilling - (re)learning the low tech skills of our forebears
Neighborhood organizing and support
Outreach and publicity
Heart and soul - learning and helping others to cope with the psychological, spiritual and social sides of change
Local currency
Working with local government
Administrative tasks such as Training and Finances
Later Saturday you will have a chance to sign on for any projects you have energy for and begin work toward crafting and implementing Energy Descent Action Plans. There will also be an opportunity to connect with others from your neighborhood.
We are very excited about moving toward a more cooperative and joyful future. The knowledge of what to do already exists; it’s just scattered throughout the community. This is the beginning of our tapping and integrating that knowledge, making it available to everyone, and putting it to work in a plan for resilient communities.
So please pass this on to anyone you think should be there.There’s a lot needing to be done to create a resilient future in our region for ourselves and our children.Please join us and help shape that future.
