Every year for the past two decades, the neighbors near Sherrett Street in southeast Portland repaint their colorful street intersection. Resident Mighk Simpson gives us a tour on painting day. On the sidewalk corners are spacious cob benches (with roofs), a children’s … [Read more...]
Village Vancouver — How Can A Big City Become a Village? (302)
How do you empower an entire metropolis to transition towards more localized living in a post-petroleum era? Founder Ross Moster and board members Rand Chatterjee and Ann Pacey of Village Vancouver Transition Society view Vancouver (B.C.) as a network of neighborhood-sized … [Read more...]
Visit McCaskill Street — Forging Community through Resource Sharing (297)
It all started with neighbors meeting to save money and share information around energy, water, food and more. It has grown into shared projects, shared tools and deepened friendships. Residents joined brushes to paint a wall mural with unique neighborhood themes, … [Read more...]
A Neighborly Neighborhood
There's a lot of talk about getting to know your neighbors—to work on projects and share goods, tools and expertise. It's a social investment for harder times or emergencies, to feel more secure, and/or to enjoy the convivality. Here's a neighborhood in south Corvallis, near … [Read more...]
Paint the Intersection at Share-It Square
People wielded colorful paint, brushes and rollers all over the middle of the residential street intersection. For the 19th year, neighbors and friends were repainting the street in the oldest "intersection repair" in the world. In this year's design, they were freshening up … [Read more...]
How Can A Big City Become a Village?
How do you empower an entire metropolis to transition towards a post-fossil fuel era, towards more localized living? I think that's a pretty tall order (read: daunting task), but the folks in Vancouver, BC are undertaking the task with impressive results. Village … [Read more...]
Why’d the Chicken Cross the Road? – To Meet the Neighbors
McCaskill Street looks like an ordinary residential street in Victoria West, B.C. But it's much more. Neighbors are actively sharing projects and tools and information, and having fun together building friendships. Residents are joining brushes to paint a wall mural … [Read more...]
Seattle Community Farm – Fresh Produce for the Neighborhood
August 17, 2013. The small strip of land in the Rainer Vista area of Seattle was once an empty lot covered with trash and dead cars. Now it's a small farm producing fresh produce for the neighborhood. The area has a lot of subsidized housing and not a lot of fresh produce … [Read more...]
Things are Cookin’ at Wallingford Community Kitchen (241)
One night a month, join your neighbors to cook up a meal. Eat together and take some home. We had great fun at this 2010 community kitchen in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. Coordinator Rachel Duboff and Kathleen Cromp of the Community Kitchens Northwest steering … [Read more...]
Claiming the Commons — Food for All on Haultain Boulevard (185)
Rainey Hopewell's crazy idea has ended up feeding a neighborhood and creating community. She and Margot Johnston planted vegetables in the parking strip in front of their house. They offer them free for the taking — to anyone, anytime — with messages chalked on the sidewalk … [Read more...]