18 site is connected to its immediate community by generations of stories and experiences that shape the local perception of that site. We begin public projects by inviting neighbors to share their memories of the site — whether it is a particular neighborhood block, natural feature, local business network, or the set of traditions that surround them. We have gathered memories through videotaped elder interviews, through sitting with diners at a free-lunch hub and recording their neighborhood park memories, with poetry prompts at block parties, and at oral history tables. We expand on what we learn through research in the Local History departments of our public libraries and through municipal Historical Societies, with the goal of connecting the project to the larger culture and context of the site. We compile and share this information back with the community at in-person events, gatherings, exhibitions, and limited local social media networks. Resident memories and site history create the backbone of the project “story.” How did we get here? Why did we get here? Where have we been and where do we want to go? 2. Design Events Where People Want to Be Don’t hold community input sessions at City Hall at dinnertime. No one wants to go! In the case of the Westside Riverway Park, we worked closely with a neighborhood leadership group, Westside Legends, to design events at the future park site that drew together all ages of residents and their families who came out to support them. We started building a celebratory culture around the site before any design work had begun. We shared community stories we had gathered about the site to set the tone for input on the new park. What should it feel like? What should happen there? How can it build on tradition and what can it offer that is new? Always provide free food! 3. Create a Repeating Format In the case of the Westside Riverway Park, our events took on a repeating format of Block Parties. We learned at our second public event, the Westside Women’s Circle, that everyone missed the neighborhood Block Parties that had stopped happening in the 1970s. We started to understand the format of the engagement events, as well as a core future function of the park, to be the revival of Block Parties (which are still active at the Westside Riverway Park Distillation Guidebook Co-Lab • 9.18–9.19 2025
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