City Repair Project

"CITY REPAIR is a small grassroots non-profit that supports and inspires communities and individuals to creatively transform the places where they live. This process is PLACEMAKING. Community is the invisible web that holds us together. Over time and with the development of our cities and technology, society has become more and more isolated and that web has weakened. ... This leads to problems. We provide support, resources, and opportunities to help your community reclaim the culture, power, and joy that we all deserve."

• City Repair Project

Picture of a little Free Library in Boulder, Colorado

After Hearing about the City Repair Project Story, I felt inspired to take action and learn more about this conscious event happening In the Front Range of Colorado. I felt deep down that this was my first step towards creating a better world around me. I put in my two weeks notice at my old job and left Arkansas to head to Boulder, Colorado. I then picked up Mark Lakeman & Ridhi D' Cruz from the airport to take them to their first event. Mark & Ridhi gave a wonderful talk about the change that has happened in their hometown Portland, Oregon.

Picture of Goss Grove community intersection in Boulder, Colorado

A few examples were reclaiming the right-a-way of the section between the sidewalk and the street to plant whatever they wanted such as fruit trees, building free libraries to provide free material for unprivileged people to read, painting intersections as a community get together, and going around neighborhoods with free tea stands to get people out of their house so they get to know their neighbor.

Picture of Mark talking about the tea horse that drives around Portland to get people involved in community projects.

These are a few of the many wonderful example that has been happening in Portland. With all of the laws and regulations that cities have, it's hard to believe that this all could happen. I soon learned it was more about taking action, getting like minded people together, and just doing it! Of course, there might be some resistance at first but how can anyone resist a change that is helping out the city and the earth? One remarkable thing I remembered was when Mark was talking about a time he visited an elder to talk about the problems we face in our cities. The elder took him into the city and went straight to the intersection. They looked around and continued to the next intersection. The elder simply said, You see, all of these intersections look the same, you are boxed into an infrastructure type of grid. This is the problem. The intersection is suppose to be the heart of the community. Where people come together and speak up their needs. Where we share space and have community events.

I am deeply grateful for the knowledge I've learned through that work and I encourage everyone to check them out and learn more about taking action right in your home town. Repairing your city where no one is left out and everyone feels like they belong to the bigger picture.

https://www.facebook.com/cityrepair/?fref=ts