we got some positive feelings - excitement towards the idea of more mobility. whether that mobility would come from using the light rail itself or the promised bike lanes—participants had fun imagining the ways in which their worlds would expand physically.
we also engaged with participants who held more negative feelings—fear of how their communities may shift. we sensed that while some look forward to moving around with more ease, others feel anxious and some even angry about the idea of their community becoming more accessible.
our project was focused on archiving near north. we spent time asking our participants to about places of significance to them. from the community gardens to the water park at north commons park, we learned about places that held many joyful memories. places and memories the participants hope continue to exist even as other elements shift. overall, we gathered how living in a state of anticipation can be both heavy and light. there can be genuine excitement and simultaneous fear that at moments may contradict each other.
something important that threads through near north is the sense of community. the way neighbors care for each other and that is something they hope isn’t lost in all the change. it’s clear through the spaces they noted as significant that these places hold individual and collective memories of the community.