Peterson predicted that similar efforts in downtown State College would have a host of positive results, fostering a stronger connection between the transient student population and the permanent residents of State College. He anticipated that taking part in such projects would help students identify more strongly with the area and inspire them to stay in the community after graduation.

Peterson participated in some of Portland's Village Building Convergence programs since they began in 1996 and upon his return to State College, took on the task of generating interest here. His communication with the City Repair project founders in Portland sparked them to stop in State College. The group shared stories and photographs of its experiences in Portland with a group of 75 in the State College Borough Council Chamber on Nov. 9.

Peterson was encouraged both by the audience's size and enthusiasm.

"We had more people than seats," he said.

Although the borough allowed the group to use the room free of charge, no council members were present. Far from being discouraged, however, Peterson and others continue to meet and discuss their goals for downtown.

Possible fix for disconnection

One of the ideas for State College is converting the intersection of Calder Way and Allen Street to a public square, which may or may not involve making the section that runs between College and Beaver avenues open to pedestrians only.

Peterson and about 15 others gathered Nov. 20 to talk about The City Repair Project in Oregon and ways to bring the movement to State College. During the meeting, Peterson presented for the first time the vision for Allen Street and ways to help the larger community understand the change and become excited about it.

Inspired by the process the citizens in Oregon underwent, Peterson suggested the group obtain permission from the borough to section off the street for a day or two to allow for the installation of a temporary public square. Passersby would witness firsthand the potential effects of the change, a dialogue about the project would be opened, and an information booth would educate on the theory behind the work.

According to Peterson's model, a group of people would claim space in the intersection, drawing concentric rings in the street over the course of the day, symbolizing the space that would be the public square. Performance artists would be invited, and local artists could bring their art or work in the square. Activists may create temporary archways near the square entrances, and curious onlookers would be asked to join in. Someone might offer tea or food free of charge.

Amy Grommes (graduate-architectural engineering & community development) was the meeting.

"Creating the temporary town square is a good way to bring businesses on board to let them know it could benefit business," Grommes said. "If you have a space like this, it could be a place where people could hang out and mingle."

Peterson said some business owners said sales suffered when the street was closed down for The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, but those losses were not indicative of the effects of a public square.

"It would be different from Arts Fest, because it would be a localized event," Peterson said. "Not something where people come from all over to buy, buy, buy [Arts Festival merchandise]."

Why public squares?

Peterson explained that the typical grid of the American neighborhood, which is usually designed by real estate developers, isolates neighbors from one another. In towns and villages that develop in a more organic fashion over time, as many in Europe and Africa do, public squares are very common.

City Repair's Web site contends public squares must be a priority to foster what it calls a "healthy community."

Peterson and other proponents of City Repair point to cities in Italy and Germany, where entire shopping districts are often zoned for foot traffic only. Friends and neighbors meet at outdoor cafés and markets, street performers entertain, community festivals are commonplace and walking, rather than driving, is encouraged.

In a report in the American Journal of Public Health, Portland State University professor Jan Semenza stated that almost all American cities are void of gathering places and are not zoned for both residential and commercial use. This makes them obstructive to walking and socializing, and apt to foster "car dependence and isolation."

In his report, Semenza focused on the effects of a City Repair project in Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood.

The concerned citizens of Portland decided to convert an intersection into a public gathering place. They painted the neighborhood symbol -- a sunflower -- covering the entire intersection, and built a solar-powered, mosaic-lined fountain and a natural wall made of clay and straw on the corner.

Two years later, Semenza said, the Sunnyside Piazza is still a "catalyst of sidewalk conversations." His observations, and what he calls an incomplete study that showed improvement in the overall well-being of Sunnyside's residents, prompted him to follow up with a study tracking the progress of two similar public spaces.

In the study, Semenza surveyed the same individuals over time, giving detailed questionnaires with questions like, "Would you be happy to raise children in your neighborhood?"

The answers indicate a significant improvement in the sense of community, social networks and mental health after, as compared to before, the installments, Semenza said.

Semenza said that beyond the data, the overall feeling of the communities had improved.

"There was a sense of accomplishment that we were able to accomplish things that were bigger than all of us together. It's a grassroots approach to self-government," he said.

Portland's City Repair projects

Mark Lakeman, founder of City Repair, said he and others took an approach to Portland's first public square that was similar to the idea for State College -- but quite a bit bolder. When a group asked Portland's city council whether they could use a local intersection as a public square, they were turned down. So they went back home and started planning anyway.

They built six to eight foot structures out of "basically garbage." They were able to construct an info board, a kid's clubhouse and other items. One day at about 3 a.m., they brought their combined efforts to the intersection after obtaining a block party permit. They then began painting the street with vibrant hues, in spite of the fact that they had no permit to do so.

The mayor was initially furious, but the demonstration garnered attention for the group's mission. Before long, they were presenting ideas to the city council and gaining support from all angles. Lakeman took some advice from a friend in deciding how to get the ball rolling on that particular installation.

"He told me, 'Your first problem is that you keep asking permission. So maybe you just have to stop and do what you know is right,' " Lakeman said.

It worked in Portland. City Repair has built 25 sites in the city to date, including five public squares, two mobile tea stands and the Earth Day Village, which is a yearly festival that gets citizens together to build a miniature village from local natural or recycled materials. The group wins most of its new supporters through the festivities of the village, Peterson said.

So what is State College waiting for? Well, some resistance might surface because of the vastly different ways Portland and State College approach the review of new concepts.

"A lot of cities across the country look to Portland as an innovator, especially in its land-use policies," Lakeman said.

The business side of the issue

Owners of the businesses that line Allen Street might be more interested in the financial rather than social capital generated by such a change.

"I'd have to see the sales figures for the stores in Portland before I would be able to say whether I'd be in favor [of a public square]," said Erin McGrail, manager of Gia & Co., 114 S. Allen St. "Vehicular traffic gives us a lot of business."

Elaine Meder, owner of Webster's Bookstore and Café, 128 S. Allen St., expressed a more optimistic outlook, but stressed the need for caution and consideration with regard to the many people such a change would affect. She said she'd witnessed similar initiatives in other cities with varying degrees of success.

"Some have problems with vandalism or loitering," Meder said. "It would probably help our business, but we're not the only one. I understand the need for community gathering spaces, but it has to be a multi-layered process. It can't just happen all at once."

Another potential obstacle is the dependence on delivery trucks unloading in what would become pedestrian-only areas. However, most businesses, including Chili's Grill and Bar, 137 S. Allen St., receive deliveries through side or back doors accessible from Calder Way. Other stores, such as McLanahan's Downtown Market, 116 S. Allen St., use Allen Street as a primary unloading zone.

"If you close Allen Street it would further congest Kelly Alley or Calder Way," said Jim French, manager of the grocery store.

Jay Goldman, manager of Rapid Transit Sportswear, 115 S. Allen St., said he was also wary of the possible change.

"We get a lot of people from out of town so if we take away all the parking on Allen Street it might really hurt business," Goldman said. "Where's all that traffic going to go? It would just create more traffic on the other streets."

However, as Lakeman and fellow City Repair workers have experienced, it is not necessary to completely bar traffic from entering the public square. Some of Portland's squares are closed to cars only on special occasions.

Planning Commission's take

Art Anderson, chairman of State College's Planning Commission, said he'd witnessed firsthand that limiting car traffic could be a detriment to a town's economic prosperity. When he was at the University of Oregon in Eugene, he said the town decided to close off the main street to cars, which proved a disaster for downtown businesses.

"It took away the feeling that they were there to make purchases," Anderson said.

Anderson is skeptical about converting Allen Street into a pedestrian mall, but has other suggestions for achieving a more connected feeling downtown.

"Although it sounds like a good safety measure, it really takes a lot of character and life out of the street. I'm all in favor of squares but they have to take all factors into consideration," he said.

Calder Way and the alleys that run perpendicular to it, Anderson said, have become more pedestrian-oriented over the years and would be a more practical target for initiatives similar to the proposed square on Allen Street. He imagined that the alley could remain open to service vehicles and delivery trucks but otherwise remain pedestrian. Public square-like areas could be constructed on either side of the alley, he said.

"The back lots on many shops on Calder Way are now used for employee parking," Anderson said. "It would be nice if they opened up those lots into back gardens, eating places and coffee shops. It would intensify the ambient character of the environment."

Such a project might create a vein of foot traffic through the entire town, rather than just a small section, he said. Pierce Lewis, planning commission member, named a host of cities that experimented with closing main streets during the 1960s, which were usually met with failure.

Lewis said he had heard other board members mention the possibility of leveling the sidewalk on Allen Street to "melt into the street," which would make it a better forum for occasional celebrations such as Arts Festival.

"Closing it permanently is a terrible idea," Lewis said. "I don't even think changing the sidewalk is a terribly good idea. Cars are accustomed to parking that's well marked. If you look at parking on the street in suburban neighborhoods, you can see it becomes very disorderly."

Student reactions

Terynes Castaneda (senior-economics & international business) was skeptical of the Allen Street plan, but liked Anderson's idea for a more pedestrian-friendly Calder Way.

"I love the idea of lining Calder Way with cafés and gardens and making it more accessible," Castaneda said. "It would be like the little side streets in Europe and give people more of a reason to go out."

John Cawthorne (junior-mechanical engineering) was present at the November gatherings and plans to continue his involvement with the project.

"Basically I think it will bring people together," Cawthorne said. "There's no non-religious place where we can all come together. Without public spaces, it's difficult to maintain a sense of community."