Village Building Convergence - Portland

, the VBC is about actively building our community, and realizing the strength and beauty of our power when we work and play together. By building a physical and social village infrastructure we are realizing our common visions for a lively and sustainable urban community. A ten-day event where neighborhoods activate to build shared public places and eco-oriented projects they have envisioned, designed, funded, and will maintain for themselves. VBC14 will include hands-on education in permaculture design and construction, ecological building, and public art! All projects are accomplished through collaboration, community conversations and commitment of a neighborhood to strengthen itself. Projects are founded on developing strong local relationships, social capital and equity, placemaking, ecological design, supporting our local economy, and developing our city and bioregion as a network of interconnected Village Centers. Everyone is invited to attend evening events at a central location, to participate in workshops or listen to visionaries speak about various aspects of sustainable culture and positive world transformation. VBC will feature many projects located in or adjacent to the public right of way, and private projects that support community, in various neighborhoods. Private site projects will be structures or systems that are built by and available to the communities concerned with that site, and hopefully available to some extent to the larger community. These will include public squares and meeting houses, community kiosks and benches, solar-powered and artistic innovations, and many other new ideas. Each project is initiated and managed by neighborhood groups with support from the VBC Placemaking Committee. This year especially, we would also like to focus and assist all sites in incorporating fun and inspiring plans for planting insectaries and incentivising very easy strategies to address climate change on a 'small' scale, in whatever way best supports their project. The Placemaking coordinators will help neighborhoods facilitate and coordinate the outreach/public involvement process, community decision-making and design workshops, and the permit process with the City.