The above image is from the intersection called "Share-It-Square" and it is one of several intersections in Portland that has teamed with "City Repair" to take part in the annual Village Building Convergence project where communities "reclaim the crossroads". By coming up with a design and physically painting the street together, inhabitants of the neighborhoods hope to form an atmosphere of harmony and friendship between neighbors. This utopian design is a breath of fresh air when compared with many neighborhoods, mine included, where neighbors rarely bond and sometimes don't converse at all. These communities want to change the intersection from a place of division, to a place of meeting. This video from Streetfilms features many of the people who take art in this project expressing how they feel about it:
Share-It-Square has gone even farther and redesigned the whole surrounding area. As its name suggests, this intersection is a place for sharing. It features its own play house with toys for the children, community library, and "watering hole", each of which is supplied by members of the community as they please. Anything seen as "extra" is put somewhere in the intersection and is free for use by any other member.
The members of these communities have redefined an intersection. No longer simply the crossing of two streets, it is now a place to play, to read, or simply to talk to one's neighbors. They see the forgotten "intersection" as an opportunity to make life a little better, and hope the idea spreads to more intersections over time. This is the type of design I feel every designer should aspire to; design may not be able to make a perfect world, but it can make it better, if only one street at a time.
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