In my last post, I wrote about City Repair and
their approach to neighborhood self-improvement.
A point that I should have made is that, because City Repair projects have few sources of funding except for the neighbors themselves, projects tend to be low-cost and labor-intensive. Of necessity, City Repair projects are grass-roots, hands-on efforts. Broad neighborhood buy-in is essential, which makes improved neighborhood cohesion another product of City Repair. In many cases, that cohesiveness may be even more important to the neighborhood than the project itself.
I closed my last post with a note that a City Repair group was trying to
organize in Petaluma.
I probably should have said that another
City Repair group was trying to organize in Petaluma. Given the need for broad consensus, City
Repair efforts tend to go through several false starts before gaining traction. And Petaluma is no different. I don’t know the entire Petaluma history of
City Repair efforts, but I know that the current organizers aren’t the first to
suggest this type of concept.
However, the current organizers seem particularly motivated and
connected, so may be the ones to move City Repair ahead.
The key players are Rachel Kaplan, long-time community activist and author
of “Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living” and John
Crowley, owner of the Aqus CafĂ©. (I’m
also participating in the organizing efforts and hope to bring the commitment of
Petaluma Urban Chat into City Repair Petaluma.)
John has long championed efforts like City Repair and persuaded Rachel to
head the current effort. I recently
communicated with John and Rachel about their views on the fledgling City
Repair Petaluma effort.
The two bring complementary perspectives to the effort. John focuses on the bigger picture of
community engagement and relationship building, noting his hope of “using City
Repair to create community.” Rachel
looks more at the specific projects that might result, “I love the City Repair
mindset, and the idea of bringing people together to deepen their relationship
with place. Most of my work as an artist and healer has circled around this
issue of place, home, and belonging.”
John has thought about specific neighborhoods as possible
City Repair sites, noting “Oakhill/Brewster, the Warehouse district, and Old East Petaluma”,
although he agrees with Rachel in thinking that “I would hope to see engaged
people in any neighborhood coming forward to work for the places where they
live. I don't have a preference or a
leaning toward any particular neighborhood.”
Although both are familiar with City Repair and have heard
City Repair spokesman Mark Lakeman speak, neither has assembled a City Repair
project. John notes that his background
is in “general community building”, while Rachel mentions her “long history of
creative political activism that integrates art practice, resistance culture,
and social change agendas.”
The two have similar hopes for the future of City Repair
Petaluma, although Rachel sees City Repair as an end itself, while Crowley has
hopes of City Repair acting as a catalyst for community change. Rachel hopes for City Repair to become “an
active, self-generating force for creating beauty, abundance, and a culture of
lively arts throughout our city”, while Crowley hopes that “City Repair
Petaluma will be the fulcrum that helps Petaluma become a
community-centric art and people-loving
city where neighborhoods are proud of the projects created by the community.”
To date, two organizing meetings have been held from which
resulted in efforts to reach out to particular neighborhoods.
However, the question of which neighborhood is the first site for City
Repair remains completely open. That determination
will be based solely on the ability of a neighborhood to coalesce around a
vision. Rachel, John, and others are
eager to assist, but a project vision and enthusiasm must ultimately spring
from within a neighborhood.
The next step, which will hopefully prove crucial in moving the concept
ahead, will be a joint meeting of City Repair Petaluma and Petaluma Urban
Chat. We’ll meet at the established
Urban Chat date and time, which will be Tuesday, November 12 at 5:30pm. However, to accommodate the anticipated
larger attendance, the meeting will be moved to the Petaluma Arts Center on
Lakeville Boulevard. We’ll view a City
Repair movie and talk about where to go with this idea.
Everyone is welcome, whether a resident of neighborhood that might be a
City Repair site or someone with a broader interest in the transformational
potential of City Repair. There is no
cost to attend, although a $5 per person donation to the Arts Center is
suggested in recognition of their generous offer of a meeting place.
Many City Repair projects have involved intersection painting. And intersection painting is often a fine
idea. But we needn’t limit
ourselves. In my next post, I’ll offer
other suggestions to consider and perhaps to build upon.
As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated. Please comment below or email me. And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)
Dave, I know John Crowley and I have heard before about City Repair projects. You can bet I will be at the Nov. 12 meeting with bells on. I do not know Rachel Kaplan but if she is as close to her own words as John Crowley has always been with his during all the years I have known him in Petaluma, you are absolutely right in their complementary capacities. I apologize if I am not skeptical enough, but I too have observed John's effectiveness at reaching out and connecting with many, many people in our community and sustaining the necessary motivation to carry out significant community-building undertakings with creativity and joy.
ReplyDeleteBarry, as always, your enthusiasm is appreciated. Please be aware that John, as he often does, double-booked himself so he won't be at the Tuesday meeting. But his "creativty and joy" will be there regardless.
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