[Scpg] Simple Ideas Can Change a Community/Mark Lakeman City Repair

Mon Sep 14 18:39:09 PDT 2009

(Mark Lakeman in Santa Barbara, Wed, Sept 16, 7pm, Faulkner Gallery, 
SB Central Library)
Simple Ideas Can Change A Community
by Billy Goodnick
<http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?id=3271>http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?id=3271

Emacs!

I took an eye-opening permaculture design class at City College this 
summer. When we got to the topic of creating community, our 
instructor, the delightful and resourceful Kendy Radasky, showed a 
video about City Repair. This Portland, Oregon-based organization 
creates artistic, sustainable neighborhood improvements that changed 
the personality of their shared public spaces.

That evening, I walked around my neighborhood and realized how 
sterile and soulless it felt compared to what I had just seen (except 
for McConnell's). Where were the brightly painted mandalas in the 
intersections or fanciful bus shelters built from locally harvested 
street trees? I didn't see one box of fresh produce generously left 
in a curbside kiosk.

The 3-year old in me petulantly pouted, "I want some of THOSE THINGS!"

Planting Seeds of Action

After Mark Lakeman, visionary architect and founding member of 
<http://cityrepair.org>City Repair, finishes his presentation at the 
Faulkner Gallery at 7 PM on September 16, attendees will likely leave 
with similar, envious feelings.

They might even be motivated to do something about those feelings.

And if Lynn Seigel-Boettner, Mesa resident and cheerleader/webmaster 
for <http://www.sbfoodnotlawns.org>Santa Barbara Food Not Lawns, has 
her long-time wish fulfilled, there will be free-boxes brimming with 
luscious heirloom tomatoes and useful things that people share with 
their neighbors.

"I first read about Mark in Sunset magazine 10 or 15 years ago," Lynn 
told me. "The article was about community-building projects that Mark 
and others were doing in Portland. I remember this picture of kids 
sitting on the sidewalk reading books and playing with toys they 
found in a free-box in their neighbor's front yard. I thought, 'this 
is a great idea' and eventually built a box of my own."

Building Community

I saw Lynn's Mesa-neighborhood vegetable garden not too long ago. In 
her unique, bountiful front yard sits a Lakeman-inspired kiosk 
brimming with her chickens' eggs, a basket of ruby red strawberries 
and juicy oranges.

A neighbor strolled by, helped herself to a few berries, offered a 
smiling "thank you," and continued on.

As simple as this concept sounds, the kiosk is a powerful catalyst 
that opened the door to meeting neighbors and forming bonds that are 
sorely lacking in communities.

So when Lynn heard that Mark Lakeman would be speaking in Santa 
Barbara this week, she figured she'd help by hosting him and 
spreading the word. Perhaps others would be inspired to take action, 
as she had.

Mark is the founding member of City Repair, which describes itself as 
"an 'anti-virus' to combat isolation and over-commodification of 
conventionally designed cities." Since 1996, group of volunteers has 
grown from humble roots to a national movement with projects underway 
in 12 cities in the US and Canada, including citizen-driven designs 
for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Mark is a self-effacing crusader for a cause he holds dear. He says 
that at his Wednesday talk, his role is "to tell stories that explain 
how other collaborative projects have happened in communities 
throughout the country."

Then it's up to each community to localize their ideas and make things happen.

I'm writing this post because we need lots of people in the room. 
There's no sense casting a rich mixture of seeds if they can't land 
on lots of fertile ground. We need you and your friends to come, 
listen, open your synaptic connections and get your pulse pumping.

Lynn assures me that there's no agenda, no pet projects that someone 
is trying to push. "I agree with Mark that suburbia doesn't work. We 
need to look at the existing system and see how we can make gentle 
changes. If someone feels inspired to do their own small project, 
that's great. Or they can join with others and take on something more 
ambitious."

Embrace the Process

Many of the projects that City Repair has completed simply happened. 
Like Nike, they just did it. Other projects occupy publicly owned 
spaces-The Commons, as Mark likes to say.

In my 22 years working for the City of Santa Barbara, I've watched 
scores of imaginative, excited people pitch ideas they think would be 
a boon to Santa Barbara, from poetry gardens to fly-casting ponds to 
skateboard parks to giant chess sets. Some "get legs" and others die 
slow, quiet deaths.

What sets successful projects apart is acceptance of reality. The 
advocates understand that they have to do some of the heavy lifting. 
Now more than ever, coffers are cleaned out, staff is stretched and 
projects are paralyzed. So don't expect a genie to appear from a 
magic lamp and make it happen for you.

Project advocates who made it to the finish line figured out how to 
cultivate in-kind donations, think creatively and work within the 
rules agencies have to follow. That's another one of Mark's specialties.

So you'll need to get fired up, learn the process, accept the hoops 
you'll be asked to jump through (hopefully, they won't be on fire), 
and befriend a councilmember or two who will go to bat for the idea.

Unimaginable projects happen. I know. I've watched kids ollying, 
flip-kicking and grinding in Santa Barbara's most precious beachfront 
real estate, Skater's Point.

Bring a busload of friends. I'll see you at the Faulkner.

Suggested donation at the door: $10

More info about <http://www.sbfoodnotlawns.org>Santa Barbara Food Not 
Lawns, <http://cityrepair.org>City Repair and Mark Lakeman's 
<http://communitecture.net/communitecture/index.php>Communitecture 
design practice.

# # # #

Billy Goodnick is a nice guy who knows a lot about plants and garden stuff.

<http://www.billygoodnick.com>www.billygoodnick.com

Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
    an educational non-profit since 2000
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie at sbpermaculture.org
www.sbpermaculture.org

"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in 
order to grow." - Anonymous

First Annual Southern California Permaculture Convergence August 2008
http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org
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