Taking Back Our Streets One Intersection at a Time
Don’t you wish the intersections in your neighborhood looked like this? If you live in the Northwest (of the country, not Austin, sadly), there’s a good chance at least one of them does. The City Repair Project, an “organized group action” that educates and inspires communities and individuals to creatively transform the places where they live, was created in Portland, Oregon in 1996 by citizen activists who wanted a more community-oriented and ecologically sustainable society. The movement and its ideals have since spread up and down the West Coast to towns like Eugene, Olympia, Seattle, Santa Monica, and Oakland.
Could Austin be next? If so, I know of a perfect intersection, Nelray and Chesterfield, which is right here in my neighborhood. A guerrilla gardener has already hit one corner of the intersection, creating this beautiful array of flowers and vegetables:
On the northwest side of the intersection sits this pleasant-looking bush, the name of which escapes me:
This was the shrub that was sporting pretty lavender flower just last week. I think it might be a Bush Germander?
Together these two corners of the intersection show the inherent natural beauty of the area, but the the two corners opposite show the present-day reality.
Nice tag on the curb, huh? The southeast corner has also been hit with a splash of graffiti:
To me, this intersection represents all that my neighborhood is (as well as could be). Instead of allowing some high-school punk to lift his leg and piss on all of our street corners, wouldn’t it be nice if we were to come together and take back our streets? A City Repair-type action is the most beautiful way of doing it I can think of. Anyone want to join me?
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Upon further review, that bush on the northwest corner of the intersection is probably Texas sage, but, once again, I am not entirely sure. Any botanists out there want to set me straight?
July 24th, 2008 at 9:58 am
I think that intersection is a perfect place to plant wildflowers. I hope you can organize a group. You will also need to organize a citizen patrol packing heat to deal with the paint sprayers.
July 25th, 2008 at 1:34 am
Yep, that gray shrub is a Texas sage, aka cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens). Very tough, and gorgeous in bloom.
I like what your guerrilla gardening neighbor has done. More power to him or her.