The community media project undertaking has made us appreciate assignments like our papers that allow us to confidently plan it out in our own time and write it as we wish. An academic paper is a product of your own undertaking, one that can be shaped to your own liking and made to fit the narrative you have chosen. Even the most impartial of writers can attest to the fact that it is easier to control the course of your paper, to mould it, to narrate a message you believe in.
A media project, that too with a civic engagement twist, has been a whole other ball game. We have enjoyed the evolving process so far, but we also admit our inconsistency with what our final product could be. This is in part because the possibilities truly are endless. However, we think we have finally nailed it, and there will be no more changes (fingers crossed) in the final vision.
Our conversation with Regent Park resident and group member Abdi really helped shape our final pivot. We were brainstorming along the theme of nostalgia, and how nostalgia plays a factor in place-making and affects civic engagement. The storytelling angle of our project led us to brainstorm new and old places around the neighbourhood that we could gather narratives for. Abdi told us about this sacred green box where he and his friends used to hang out.
The green box, a nostalgic relic for many 90s, early 2000s folks has become an endearing meme.
Green box meme by X user @loveangelb4by
Abdi’s green box evoked heartwarming nostalgia. We reflected on the impact of its demise post-redevelopment, and how planners could have a hand in stripping a neighbourhood of its unadorned but significant landmarks. Perhaps the removal of the green box was inevitable, however, the memories made around the box are an immortal part of the fabric of the neighbourhood.
Abdi’s green box
While exploring Google Street View from 2009, Abdi pointed out a mural next to the green box. However, just like the green box, it has gone away with the redevelopment. We were sad to hear that at first, but Abdi quickly turned our attention to the photo wall at FOCUS. We were delighted to see that a picture of the mural hangs on the wall today and that its memory is not lost in the redevelopment. Although memories can be powerful, things sometimes slip through the cracks of time. Pictures help capture these memories and turn them into tangible artifacts, which our boardgame and project intends to do – evoke a sense of nostalgia and connection to the built environment both past and present.
The mural in Google Street View and on the wall at FOCUS
An idea emerged, that an illustration of the green box on a card, or a poster that could immortalize it, would be a fun souvenir for residents that were in the know. This, coupled with an idea we came across from a Harvard professor named Daniel D’Oca, allowed our final idea to take shape. D’Oca asks his students to design and build board games about specific geographies to understand the conflicting agendas of different stakeholders that come together to participate in city building.
Daniel D’Oca’s Instagram posts detailing the origin and purpose of the board game
We have been inspired, and we believe this is the final form our project will take. We want the community to be co-creators of this game. Our initial idea was to approach the Art Hut to include the landmarks we chose in their programming, so the children can draw them. We want to include their artwork to evoke a feeling of nostalgia. If given the opportunity, we would speak to them about the landmarks, so they would also understand what once was, what is still standing, and what has newly emerged.
Our website then will be a storyboard, with a map illustrating the landmarks we choose. The landmarks will be embedded with a story of its origin, and we still plan to collect narratives which will be featured there. Before folks embark on this storyboard journey, they will be met with a bit of context about our project. We plan to write a blurb about the idea of nostalgia in placemaking and how these two ideas merge to impact civic engagement.
The RE-VISIT team members are Abdirahman, Ashwini, and Roya