City Repair Project
City Repair Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1996 in Portland, Oregon, that runs community-led placemaking programs including the Village Building Convergence, street paintings, natural building, and ecological landscaping for Portland metro residents and volunteers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersPortland, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What City Repair Project does
City Repair Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded on March 21, 1996, in Portland, Oregon, focused on community-led placemaking and ecological urban transformation. The organization runs a portfolio of programs including the annual Village Building Convergence (VBC), street painting, natural building, ecological landscaping, the T-Horse Mobile Tea House, Pollinator Pathways, Houseless Village Building, and Ephemeral Placemaking, and operates the Thimbleberry Outdoor School (opened 2025). Since 2001 it has stewarded nearly 1,000 community projects and over 70 street paintings across the Portland metro area, and has directly influenced the passage of three Portland city ordinances (172207 in 1998, 175937 in 2001, and 187193 in 2015) that codify its placemaking methodology.
City Repair Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- City Repair Project
- Legal name
- The City Repair Project
- Website
- https://cityrepair.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- City Repair Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1996 in Portland, Oregon, that runs community-led placemaking programs including the Village Building Convergence, street paintings, natural building, and ecological landscaping for Portland metro residents and volunteers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
City Repair Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Placemaking Services
- NAICS
- Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction (2373), Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (23622)
- SIC
- Construction - Special Trade Contractors (1700), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Renovation, Remodeling & Tenant Improvements (General Contracting) (IMAFAAAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Code Compliance, Permitting & Inspections (Rebuild) (HSAPAOAK)
Keywords
Where City Repair Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Portland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
City Repair Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Donations and Contributions: City Repair is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit that relies on tax-deductible donations from supporters. Donations fund neighborhood projects, supplies, planning support, construction materials, specialized tools, insurance, sliding scale professional support, and administrative costs.
- Workshop Fees: Workshops are primarily free to attend but offer optional paid support tiers ($5, $10, $20) for those who can contribute. Some events like the Seven Springs Summer Concert may require ticket purchases.
- Sliding Scale Services: Services are provided at sliding scale, often pro bono, reducing financial barriers for communities to build gathering spaces and create community events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One-time | Free workshops with optional donation support |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Sliding scale services and donations |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
City Repair Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
City Repair Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that facilitates artistic and ecologically-oriented placemaking and community-building events in the Portland Metro area. It operates programs such as the Village Building Convergence, Street Paintings, Natural Building, Ecological Landscaping, the T-Horse Mobile Tea House, Pollinator Pathways, and Houseless Village Building. The organization provides free and sliding-scale workshops, technical assistance, materials, and volunteer coordination so that residents can reclaim public spaces and build community gathering places.
Product overview
City Repair Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that operates as a single, integrated placemaking organization rather than a software platform. The organization offers multiple interconnected programs centered on community-driven urban transformation, including the Village Building Convergence (VBC) as its flagship annual program, Street Paintings, Natural Building, Ecological Landscaping, T-Horse mobile tea house, Pollinator Pathways, Houseless Village Building, and Ephemeral Placemaking. Additionally, the organization provides educational workshops on street painting, natural building, permaculture, papercrete, and placemaking. The programs work together to help diverse communities reclaim public spaces through artistic and ecological placemaking, with the VBC serving as the umbrella event that coordinates projects across all these focus areas throughout the year.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Village Building Convergence (VBC): Annual spring-time barn-raising program and largest annual program of City Repair, facilitating placemaking to encourage the emergence of modern village spirit.
- Intersection Repair
- T-Horse
- Pollinator Pathways
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 1,000 community projects completed since 2001 through Village Building Convergence
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use City Repair Project
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
City Repair Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
City Repair Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- Thimbleberry Collaborative Farmcore5-acre nonprofit educational farm partner for VBC cob pizza oven building project. Farm fights food insecurity in East Multnomah and Clackamas Counties by growing produce for people in need and teaching folks about growing and cooking food. Distributes 10,000+ lbs of produce annually and serves 800+ community members.
- StrongTownsPDXcorePartner for Benches for Everyone project during VBC 2026. StrongTownsPDX envisions a future where everyone has opportunity to live a good life in a prospering place, with change driven by bottom-up action and sustained by strong community bonds.
- Portland Art MuseumcorePartnership for Cultural District Plaza street painting project at Portland Art Museum's Mark Rothko Pavilion. Project transforms Southwest Madison Street into pedestrian plaza with mural 'Mountings Full of Blessings' by Yinka Ilori. Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies' Asphalt Art Initiative and Portland Office of Arts and Culture.
- Portland Bureau of TransportationcoreLong-standing partnership for Intersection Repair permits and street painting projects. PBOT works with City Repair to define safety buffers, traffic control plans, and material standards for street painting projects.
- Portland Office of Arts and CulturecorePartner in funding and supporting street painting and placemaking projects including the Cultural District Plaza project with Bloomberg Philanthropies' Asphalt Art Initiative.
- POD InitiativecorePartnership with Center for Public Interest Design to apply placemaking and village building model to respond to the current housing crisis, helping build villages for houseless neighbors.
- Village CoalitioncoreCoalition partner for houseless village building initiatives, applying City Repair's village building model to create dignified living spaces.
- Portland Farmers MarketsecondaryNonprofit organization operating five markets across Portland. Partner for Kenton Farmers Market Street Painting project during VBC, supporting regional farmers and food producers while creating vibrant community spaces.
- Portland Fruit Tree ProjectsecondaryGrassroots 501(c)(3) gleaning nonprofit providing community-based solution to food access needs. Partner for Sabin Community Orchard Gathering during VBC.
- Learning Gardens Labsecondary2-acre educational community garden on 12-acre Green Thumb site in SE Portland. Mission to foster sustainable leadership and lifelong learning through garden-based education and regenerative food systems. Partner for Learning Garden Labs Work Party during VBC.
- Green Earth MontessorisecondarySustainable green preschool dedicated to art- and nature-based learning. Partner for Care for the Creek Day during VBC.
- Dignity VillagecoreHouseless community village supported by City Repair through advocacy groups building villages for houseless neighbors.
- Kailash EcovillagecorePartner for VBC treehouse green roof building workshop and Milpa: Origin of Three Sisters permaculture education.
- Jean's FarmcoreFour-acre forest farm in South Portland hosting permaculture courses and ecological education. Current home of PDX Permaculture Institute. Partner for Seven Springs Summer Concert during VBC.
- Center for Native Arts and CulturescorePartner for street painting project at Center for Native Arts and Cultures with artists Jacob Meders (Mechoopda/Maidu) and Toma Villa (Yakama Nation).
- DePavesecondaryOrganization launched and sponsored by City Repair as part of their community building efforts.
- FreeGeeksecondaryOrganization launched and sponsored by City Repair as part of their community building efforts.
- Rhythm Seed FarmsecondaryNonprofit urban seed farm working to build community resilience through seed saving and seed sovereignty. Partner for Solstice Gathering and VBC 2025 events.
- Bon Dance Picnic PDXsecondaryCommunity organization bringing Japanese Bon Dances to VBC Opening Circle celebration.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
City Repair Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- The Trust for Public Land: The Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit focused on creating parks and protecting land for public use. Operates in adjacent placemaking/conservation space but at much larger scale and with paid staff; comparable in working with municipalities to create public gathering spaces.
- Gehl: Gehl is a global urban planning and placemaking consultancy that works with cities on people-centered public space design. Comparable to City Repair in mission focus, though Gehl operates as a paid consultancy while City Repair is a volunteer-led nonprofit offering pro-bono/placemaking services.
Direct peers
- Project for Public Spaces: Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is the leading national nonprofit advancing placemaking as a community-driven practice. Highly comparable to City Repair in mission, methodology, and target audience (neighborhoods and municipalities), though PPS operates at a national scale while City Repair is Portland-rooted.
- Better Block Foundation: Better Block Foundation is a nonprofit that helps communities temporarily reconfigure streets and intersections to demonstrate placemaking concepts. Highly comparable to City Repair's Intersection Repair program and street painting initiatives, with a stronger national footprint.
- Hester Street Collaborative: Hester Street Collaborative is a nonprofit urban planning and design practice that works with low-income communities on equitable neighborhood development. Comparable to City Repair in using community-led design processes and engaging residents in shaping public space.
- Partners for Public Art: Partners for Public Art is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit commissioning permanent and temporary public art that activates urban spaces. Directly comparable to City Repair's street painting and intersection mural programs in producing community-driven public art installations.
Emerging players
- Strong Towns: Strong Towns is a nonprofit media and advocacy organization promoting bottom-up community development and incremental placemaking. Local chapter StrongTownsPDX is an active City Repair partner, indicating strong ideological and operational alignment.
- Center for Active Design: Center for Active Design is a nonprofit that develops tools and frameworks to shape healthier, more active built environments. Comparable to City Repair in working at the intersection of design, public health, and community engagement.
Others
- Center for Public Interest Design: Center for Public Interest Design is a Portland-based research and advocacy organization at Portland State University. Directly partnered with City Repair via the POD Initiative for houseless village building; comparable in advocating community-driven design practices.
Regional players
- Kounkuey Design Initiative: Kounkuey Design Initiative is a California-based nonprofit architecture and community development organization building participatory public spaces in underserved communities. Comparable methodology (community-led design, public space creation) with regional rather than Portland-specific focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
City Repair Project social profiles
Digital presenceCity Repair Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
City Repair Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
City Repair Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
City Repair Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about City Repair Project
What does City Repair Project do?
City Repair Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that facilitates artistic and ecologically-oriented placemaking and community-building events in the Portland Metro area. It operates programs such as the Village Building Convergence, Street Paintings, Natural Building, Ecological Landscaping, the T-Horse Mobile Tea House, Pollinator Pathways, and Houseless Village Building. The organization provides free and sliding-scale workshops, technical assistance, materials, and volunteer coordination so that residents can reclaim public spaces and build community gathering places.
Is City Repair Project a public or private company?
City Repair Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was City Repair Project founded?
City Repair Project was founded in 1996. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is City Repair Project based?
City Repair Project is headquartered in Portland, United States, in the North America region.
How does City Repair Project make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Contributions are the primary driver. The others are workshop Fees and sliding Scale Services.
Who are City Repair Project's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are The Trust for Public Land and Gehl. Direct peers are Project for Public Spaces, Better Block Foundation, Hester Street Collaborative and Partners for Public Art. Emerging players are Strong Towns and Center for Active Design. Center for Public Interest Design is listed as an others. Kounkuey Design Initiative is listed as a regional player.
Does City Repair Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for City Repair Project.
What industry is City Repair Project in?
City Repair Project's product category is Community Placemaking Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAFAAAE, Renovation, Remodeling & Tenant Improvements (General Contracting), with a secondary code of HSAPAOAK, Code Compliance, Permitting & Inspections (Rebuild). Its NAICS code is 2373 and its SIC code is 1700.