By LEAH BELL-JOHNSON

Beginning the 31st of May and lasting until the 9th of June, Portland’s neighborhoods will play host to the Village Building Convergence (VBC), a series of community-built projects held throughout the city.

The Village Building Convergence is the flagship event of City Repair, a non-profit that “fosters thriving, inclusive and sustainable communities through the creative reclamation of public space.”

According to their website, they encourage community involvement through a wide variety of “placemaking” projects, which range from creating street paintings at intersections to constructing urban gardens.

The Village Building Convergence will put City Repair’s placemaking projects on full display with 30 such projects scheduled throughout the city. Participants can choose from a wide variety of projects during the 10 days of the VBC as well as attend evening events.

City Repair has made sorting through and selecting projects of interest simple with an interactive map on their website. The map features three different types of pins corresponding to the different types of projects (intersection repair, ecological landscaping, and natural building) as well as a brief description of each project and its location. More in depth info on certain projects can be found on the “Project Sites List.”

Many of the projects are closer in, but in Lents, you can help the Lents Bridge Project paint the footbridge over I-205 (it connects SE 93rd with SE 96th at Steele Street). There will be food, music, and Portland Pickles players attending).

In Montavilla, a community house called The Booty House, is inviting is building a raised swamp to capture rainwater: “This will create ecosystem for our two ducks while also saving the water it takes to refill their pond daily, provide water to cool our brews without using new water, and water our garden”

No reservations or tickets are required, except for the VBC’s Village Building Design Course (more info on the website).

So this May 31st through June 9th join your neighbors in lending a hand to make Portland a better and stronger community!

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