The Village Building Convergence (VBC)

VBC 2025 is June 14-22!

The Village Building Convergence, organized by the City Repair Project, is an annual collaboration and cross pollination of neighbors, groups and civic partnerships to transform our city. It has been a catalyst for positive change in communities since its inception. By bringing people together and empowering them to take action, the VBC aims to create vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable neighborhoods.

Placemaking projects are accepted and developed throughout spring and culminate with our week-long summer festivities, where we showcase the ongoing projects alongside interactive workshops, guest speakers, and local performances.

How does it work?
The Placemaking Committee will work with your community group throughout the Winter and Spring, culminating in a design for your project, which will be implemented at some point during the Village Building Convergence (June-September). We will help neighborhoods facilitate and coordinate the outreach / public involvement process, community decision-making and design workshops, the permit process with the City, and partnership building. Though we will work closely with you, all site groups are responsible for their projects from start to finish, which includes fundraising, publicizing, building, and ongoing maintenance of the project.

Why Placemaking?
Placemaking fosters active, engaged relationships with our community, the spaces we inhabit, and the landscapes of our lives. Placemaking allows us to shape those spaces in a way which creates a sense of communal stewardship and lived connection.  This is most often accomplished through a creative reclamation of public space: projects can take the form of benches on street corners where neighbors can rest and talk with each other, kiosks on sidewalks where we can post information about local events and resources, and street paintings in the public right-of-way that demonstrate to all who pass through that this is a Place inhabited, known and loved by its residents.  In all instances, these projects are undertaken by local communities who come together to discuss what it is they want in their neighborhood—what elements are lacking in the public sphere and how the community can work together with the resources they have to create their own place.

How can my neighborhood initiate a Placemaking Project?
We are so glad you asked! Each Fall we offer up an opportunity for interested individuals and groups to submit a proposal for a project intended to bring together the community to work as a team to create beautiful new space for the benefit of all. As noted in “How does it work?”, our team will have various strategies to facilitate the success of your project, but commitment from you, the community champion, is instrumental to the completion of your project.

Below are some of the projects we have supported in the past.