project guide: neighborhood stories

project guide

dallas | houston | rio grande valley

NEIGHBORHOOD STORIES

Project Guide | Neighborhood Stories | 2

[bc]’s Neighborhood Stories is a research and documentation project that celebrates community identity, history, and culture by showcasing neighborhood histories. This initiative amplifies neighborhood voices by working directly with residents to document neighborhood narratives and provide a platform to share these stories. In Dallas we’ve partnered with a number of neighborhoods, including:

• La Bajada and Dolphin Heights: two historic communities of color with organized resistance to redevelopment and associated displacement pressures since the 1970s;

• Wynnewood North: a classic mid-century neighborhood and shopping center seeking to integrate senior and affordable housing;

• Tenth Street: an original Freedmen’s town, historic district, and neighborhood experiencing loss of residents and institutions;

• Mount Auburn: a historically working class neighborhood currently facing pressure from an influx of new residents.

Products of the initiative include films, exhibits, and publications that trace the interrelated social, economic, political, and physical histories within a neighborhood.

WHAT IS NEIGHBORHOOD STORIES?La Bajada Neighborhood Stories Event : November 2012

Neighbors outside of the Deepwood dump : 2014

Neighborhood Stories Activites : 2013


HOW IS IT DONE?The Neighborhood Stories process begins with an intensive research period composed of two complementary and concurrent research tracks: physical histories and social histories. Building relationships with neighborhood residents as well as other stakeholders is vital to the success of both tracks, and the project as a whole. Mapping supports and illustrates the physical changes and evolution of the neighborhood and its surrounding urban context. Oral history interviews capture unique insider perspectives of the neighborhood, and chronicle the social dynamics in the neighborhood. Ultimately, this research seeks to document a neighborhood’s evolution by identifying the larger forces responsible for change, and the impacts and response within the community.

Interview of Felix Lozada for La Bajada Neighborhood Stories Film : 2012

Tenth Street Neighborhood Stories Culmination Event

After the research is completed, a comprehensive film, book, or exhibit that tells the story of social, economic, political, and physical development of the neighborhood is produced. This product is shared at an event that brings neighbors out and fosters a sense of community growth. This event can serve as a springboard for larger conversations about the future of the neighborhood.

Mount Auburn Neighborhood Stories Paseo Bike Tour


The Neighborhood Stories process begins with an intensive research period composed of two complementary and concurrent research tracks: physical histories and social histories. Building relationships with neighborhood residents as well as other stakeholders is vital to the success of both tracks, and the project as a whole. Mapping supports and illustrates the physical changes and evolution of the neighborhood and its surrounding urban context. Oral history interviews capture unique insider perspectives of the neighborhood, and chronicle the social dynamics in the neighborhood. Ultimately, this research seeks to document a neighborhood’s evolution by identifying the larger forces responsible for change, and the impacts and response within the community.

After the research is completed, a comprehensive film, book, or exhibit that tells the story of social, economic, political, and physical development of the neighborhood is produced. This product is shared at an event that brings neighbors out and fosters a sense of community growth. This event can serve as a springboard for larger conversations about the future of the neighborhood.

Newspaper ArchivesNewspaper archives are a good first step in the research process as they lay out a timeline of major events and developments. It is important to note that this coverage is reflective of a newspaper’s priorities and values at the time - no single source represents the entire story or is more or less objective than another.

LOOK FOR: specific mentions of the neighborhood name (and former names), streets, influential people, neighborhood businesses, schools, and parks. Also, keep in mind the broader context - what’s happening regionally, nationally, and globally at the time - and the surrounding neighborhoods and developments. These archives can often be accessed both at the library and through the library’s website.

Books & Historic CollectionsBooks and historical collections provide a detailed look into specific historical trends and events. For example, one can track previous neighborhood planning initiatives by looking at meeting flyers, proposals, minutes, and other public records frequently housed in historical collections. Books are helpful for contextualizing neighborhood change, where available. In some cases, neighborhoods will already have a scrapbook or collection documenting parts of the neighborhood’s history.

LOOK FOR: in-depth descriptions of local, national or even global processes connected to your neighborhood research.

Government and Municipal ArchivesMunicipal Archives exist to preserve valuable and historic records of the city, and contain maps, architectural plans, and

RESEARCH TOOLS & RESOURCESother documents relating to city government. Additionally, city departments may have historic images and records that would be available through an open records request.

LOOK FOR: records of financial transactions, maps and images of government projects in or impacting your target neighborhood, and architectural plans and drawings of government projects, including parks and schools, in the neighborhood.

MapsMaps are critical for understanding the spatial evolution of a neighborhood, and can be gathered from a broad range of historic sources: Sanborn fire insurance maps to look at building and lot sizes, federal infrastructure maps (from agencies like the USACE, FHA, etc), local infrastructure maps or aerial surveys, maps of natural resources, and maps created by and for the neighborhood.

Dallas Public Works Race Map : 1945

La Bajada Family Photos from Neighborhood Research


PRODUCTS

CULMINATING CELEBRATIONS!

BookletsBooklets are a physical record of the Neighborhood Stories research that can be handed out at events. The advantage of the booklets is that they do not require access to internet or a computer, are easily portable, and can be held onto for the future in a way that’s different from both a film and a public event.

The booklets are printed in English and Spanish side by side, and include historic photos, maps, and aerials, and other photographs of the neighborhood, maps and diagrams created by [bc], and descriptions of important events that have shaped the neighborhood.

ExhibitsExhibits are a way to share the final neighborhood research in a public setting. They are held in a community space, a gallery, or anywhere in the neighborhood that’s easily accessible and has enough space for all the great materials you’ve collected. Images can be printed at a larger scale than what’s possible in

After all your hard work, what better way to share this history with the neighborhood than a big party? Beyond the simple act of informing, culminating celebrations are a good way to increase connectivity and provide a platform for people who share a common connection with the neighborhood to meet one another and share stories.

Neighborhood Stories events are hosted in strategic locations, chosen for their significance to the neighborhood’s history. Instead of hosting events where they are easiest, find the place that is the most meaningful - this could involve drawing attention to vacant or underutilized spaces, recreating past neighborhood events or activities, or hosting a tour through your neighborhood.

Each culminating celebration of a Neighborhood Stories process has a number of different elements, try out a few of the following!:• Sharing your final product - passing out books, hosting an

exhibit, screening the film• Food, catered by neighborhood restaurants• Musical performances• Activities that spur conversation about the neighborhood

- a parade, space to display dreams and memories, games catered to gathering information on future hopes...

Tenth Street Neighborhood Stories Culmination Event

LOOK FOR: features on the map that are different from what currently exists in the neighborhood.

Oral HistoriesOral history interviews are the best sources for the unique voices that add color, personality, character and stories to what is otherwise a heavily technical exercise. They provide information - juicy gossip, local legends, neighborhoods traditions - that cannot be found in other sources. When conducting interviews, remember to be respectful to the interview subjects’ time and resources. Consider the way interview questions can change the way responses are given and frame your questions accordingly - reference the interview tips provided in the appendix of this document! Finally, keep everyone you have interview updated on the status of the project as it progresses.

LOOK FOR: gather perspectives on important events and developments you have discovered in your research, and keep an eye out for additional stories that you haven’t discovered yet.

Family Photos & RecordsNeighborhoods aren’t always well documented in collections at libraries or historical societies. Photos and other records will often exist in personal and family connections that have been passed down through the generations. Neighbors might share these images to help better document their neighborhood if they see value in the project.

LOOK FOR: images that show the general character of the neighborhood, socially and physically - this includes families, community gatherings, and neighborhood businesses & institutions.

the booklets, allowing a different level of detail to be visible. They are a great way to engage people in the work and reach new audiences.

FilmsThe films are about condensing raw materials that you’ve collected into a comprehensive narrative that is easy to understand. Letting neighborhood residents and other experts speak with their own voices is a primary goal. The workflow involves crafting a narrative that works from the raw materials, then adding music, images, b-roll footage, maps, and diagrams when and where they are needed. Films are screened at public events and published online.


Neighborhood Stories creates a record of a neighborhood and its history as captured in a particular time and place. It demonstrates the way that history continues to exist in the present as its legacies shape contemporary decisions and social practices.

Through public events and celebrations, Neighborhood Stories also encourages new connections within the neighborhood. At a time when older city neighborhoods are facing intense redevelopment pressures and rapid changes all around them, organized and connected communities are better able to achieve their goals in the face of these challenges.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?Mount Auburn Neighborhood Stories Paseo Bike Tour through neighborhood : August 2013

Dolphin Heights Neighborhood Stories Culminating Event

Dallas Morning News Article about the Deepwood Landfill


The buildingcommunityWORKSHOP is a Texas based nonprofit community design center seeking to improve the livability and viability of communities through the practice of thoughtful design and making. We enrich the lives of citizens by bringing design thinking to areas of our cities where resources are most scarce. To do so, [bc] recognizes that it must first understand the social, economic, and environmental issues facing a community before beginning work.

As the only community design organization working across Texas, [bc] is unique in its approach to community engagement. We form strong relationships through our collaborative design work, educational outreach activities, and social media channels, enabling us to engage with a broad segment of the population. The success of our work is contingent upon reaching those residents not typically sought out by the design and planning community.

[bc] has been fortunate to receive several awards from AIA Dallas & LRGV AIA, the 2010 National AIA/HUD Secretary’s Award for Community-Informed Design and a 2011 National SEED Competition award. In 2013, [bc] was awarded the prestigious Rudy Bruner Award Silver Medal for the Congo Street Initiative. We were recently awarded the Texas Society of Architects Design Award for the La Hacienda Casitas. Little Free Libraries/Libros Libres was also awarded the 2014 SXSW Eco Place by Design award.

[bc] was established in Dallas in 2005 and a field office in Brownsville opened in 2011, and a Houston office followed in 2013.

ABOUT [bc]

http://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/neighborhood-storieshttp://www.bcworkshop.org/neighborhood-stories

“Principles and Best Practices for Oral History.” Oral History Associationhttp://www.history.com/images/media/pdf/OralHistoryGuidelines.pdf

“A Guide to Researching your Neighborhood History.” Houston History Associationhttp://www.preservewoodlandheights.org/historicdistrict/Guide_To_Your_Neighborhood_History.pdf

PROJECT LINKS

FURTHER READING

Photo from the Mount Auburn Neighborhood Research


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dallas, texas 75201214.252.2900

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project guide: neighborhood stories

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