Restreet, or complete-the-street, is a movement to help create more safe and efficient communities. I recently had the honor of being invited by the City of Riverside Planning Department to coordinate a chalk mural. The purpose of the mural was to help inspire a new vision for how we use University Avenue. The question "what if the street were designed for more than cars?" drove the concept. People were invited to come and participate in a discussion and brainstorming session regarding how the street itself can be redesigned to be more walk and bike-able, more sustainable, more economical and sociable, and safer. Many ideas were presented that day from implementing more green roofs and building skateparks in vacant spaces, to creating more bike lanes, better public transit, and traffic calming and zoning for more small, local retail. As the "city of arts and innovation", I commend Riverside for inviting artists and all concerned citizens to the drawing board. Unindoctrinated input will surely help create a more unique and genuine sense of place.
Artists and community members were
invited to come to Ceasar Chaves Community Center to create a collaborative mural. The mural would be seen by the participants at the meeting the following day. Here are some photos of the work in progress, and a short story below that describes my personal vision for a more ideal town. What are your ideas?
“Strengthening the community by integrating wisdom and nature through art in public places”
By Selena Wilson
Imagine this:
You are walking down the street to the market with your six year old. Along the pedestrian median of the boulevard, there are trees. These are fruit trees encircled by metal, artist crafted tree guards. They have symbols integrated that the community holds dear, and have hand-holds and planters built in. Your child climbs on one, reaches into a planter pocket to eat a strawberry, and climbs further to pick you an orange. The next tree has mint growing. You take a pinch to bring home to your mother who isn’t feeling
well. You will make her some tea. A mural in the neighborhood illustrates with pictures and words which commonly found, and purposefully planted by the city, vegetation is useful for our health and well being. In fact, the city uses many useful and drought tolerant plants. There are vertical gardens all over city walls. Where there aren’t, there are murals that share the wisdom, traditions, and history of the various neighborhoods. You stop to fill your water bottle at one of the many public drinking fountains. This water is clean and unflouridated; you give a sip to the little one who climbs everywhere. This city is the playground and the classroom. All along the street there bars to hang from and small sets of three or four steps to do spontaneous exercise or performances on.
When you get to the market you notice your teenager’s bike at one of the bike racks (welded by local metal smiths, these are everywhere!). You remember that he comes here after school as part of a community service program initiated by the schools and neighborhood committees; he helps out at the neighborhood coop. This is where people from the community volunteer in order to participate in sharing of garden harvest, organize work parties, give and get tutoring for all ages of students, and offer workshops on things they are good at. As you peek in you see him rearranging the bulletin board that faces out the window.
On your return home with your groceries, you decide to use the public transit to make it home faster and easier with the load you now carry. Here you are able to see posters advertising local events. Local musicians music is playing on the airwaves. The transit drops you and your child off in your neighborhood, whose character and history is told through murals and sculptural elements. There are a few neighbors who sponsor the painting of their fence with a new mural, a community goal, each year. People here are regularly invited in person to attend neighborhood meetings. Twice a year some streets
close down in order to have block party’s where neighbors eat and play together. These events give people a chance to identify common goals. Their children paint the murals under the supervision of the local talent. They know who they are, and where they are going.
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