How do we shape public spaces into gathering places?
The Ojai Valley Green Coalition presents a special event on Sunday, September 25th with Mark Lakeman and Marisa Auerbach from CityRepair.org, in Portland, Oregon.
“Placemaking is a multi-layered process within which citizens foster active, engaged relationships to the spaces they inhabit. The landscapes of our lives shape those spaces in a way which creates a sense of communal stewardship and lived connection,” says Lakeman.
This is most often accomplished through a creative reclamation of public space: projects which take the form of benches on street corners where neighbors can sit, rest and talk with each other; kiosks on sidewalks where neighbors can post information about local events, needs and resources; and street paintings in the public right-of-way that demonstrate to all who pass through that this is -- a Place -- inhabited, known and loved by its residents.
