The Urban Repair Squad, an activist group from Toronto, has been using street art and stencils to rally for improvements to the city's transportation infrastructure, in fun and clever ways, by encouraging “citizens to reclaim ownership and stewardship of their urban space."

The group recently painted bike lanes at a Tornoto intersection where a bicyclist was killed, highlighting the negligence of authorities to successfully implement bike lanes in the city streets, whilst also alluding to the simplicity of bike lane installation.

In another initiative, entitled Lego My Bike Lane, the URS amended a Toronto bike lane, previously reduced by the City Counsel, by using Lego – a more flexible, modular system of bike lane infrastructure (Lego, is there anything it can’t do?).

Following on a recent post about the pothole gardener, it’s interesting to see how a new D-I-Y approach to urban restoration is developing and the means by which citizens are taking control of their environments and restoring a sense of community. With diminished faith in authorities to resolve problems, people are adopting a more pro-active philosophy and realising their own responsibilities for their urban surroundings.

Or as the URS put it:

“Your city is broken. Don't wait for the bureaucrats to fix it.”
- The Urban Repair Squad



Links to consider:

http://urbanrepairs.blogspot.com/
http://urbanrepairs.blogspot.com/2011/10/lego-my-bike-lane.html