Visions of Wallingford
How does a neighborhood learn?
There were four main project phases. Read about each one below.
Interviews
About two dozen community members were interviewed in their homes. They shared their personal histories in the neighborhood, as well as their visions for the future. They also created maps of personally significant locations, which served as the basis for some of the walking tours.
Walking tours
Residents led a total of six walking tours. Each tour was focused on a particular theme, based on the tour leaders' interests. Tours included: plants, waterways, housing, public mosaic art, Meridian Park, and 45th Street. Many of these tours were open to the public, and all of them were filmed.
Film assembly meetings
A group of community members volunteered to review footage of the walking tours, and to select clips to include in the film. We met three times to watch edits and discuss the emerging narrative. Participants also suggested additional footage to collect, which had been missing from the tours.
Screenings
The film was screened several times in different venues, for different audiences. Each screening became a community conversation, in which the film served as a catalyst to have important conversations around our changing neighborhood. These often included small group discussions and personal reflections.