• Take a bike tour of the area from Share-It Square
• See the article on Share-It Square in New Village Journal.

Share-it Square at SE Sherrett and 9th Streets, in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, was established in the fall of 1996, after the Moon-Day T-Hows project had demonstrated to area residents some of the benefits of a local gathering place.

Residents of this Sellwood wanted a community focus in their neighborhood, so they claimed a local street intersection as their own public square. The neighbors first constructed representational elements of a public square: a Tea Station, where free, hot tea is available 24 hours a day; an Information Station; a Produce Station where people can get, give away or exchange food freely, and the Tree of Life, which symbolized the new feeling of community. The neighborhood then held a block party and painted a design in the intersection to define the space. Although the City bureaucracy was initially opposed to the idea, the project soon won the support of the City Council and the Mayor of Portland. In January 2000, the Council passed a City ordinance that allows any group of citizens to convert certain street intersections into public squares in their very own neighborhood.

This Community Demonstration Project was built almost entirely with recycled materials and volunteer labor. The total cost of the original installation was less than $200, mostly for the traffic paint used for the street surface design. Share-It Square won a 1999 Governor’s Livability Award from Governor Kitzhaber and the Oregon Livability Initiative, the 1997 Citation Award and the 1997 People’s Choice Award from the American Institute of Architects, Portland Chapter.

If you are interested in starting an Intersection Repair project in your neighborhood, contact us to discuss your idea and set up a plan for action. City Repair will guide and facilitate the process, but the energy and design come from you and your neighbors.