Why do you live where you live?
I asked my facebook friends this.
My philosophy is that the strongest feature of a Strong Town is for people to love it a whole lot, so I wanted to get a better grip on why people love or do not love the place they live.
The comments poured in, and they were so interesting and beautiful that I felt compelled to do something with them.
So I wrote them out by hand.
I wanted to share the evolution so far, from concept sketches to experiments with digitizing. I hope you'll enjoy these tidbits as much as I appreciated everyone's generosity in sharing them with me.
“I live in Newfoundland because it overwhelms me with a sense of ‘home’. The Newfoundland pride runs through my veins. My family is here and my family’s history is here. It’s overflowing with a culture distinctly its own. I feel safe, supported and that the work I do is making a real impact.”
“Plattsville, Ontario. It is close to family and I was able to find a farm that met what I was looking for. Also good access to population centres to sell the vegetables I grow and also importantly where I can hire staff.”
“My mom always took me to the city as a child and it has since occupied a nostalgic place in my memories, so living here has a very “I’m grown up now” feeling that is tied to very early memories.”
“[My Partner] and I both dreamt of living anywhere else, but I was offered my dream job! I have chosen to take this opportunity to do all I can to make London a place where I can feel proud to live.”
“Kitchener in an older neighbourhood near downtown. Started working in Kitchener after graduating and KW has gradually started to feel like home. I know a lot of people here, and I’m a regular at more than a few places. Getting around is easy. The tech community is thriving, but not at the expense of culture. Can get to the country roads in a relatively short amount of time, which I like for cycling. There’s a lot to do here, and it’s not too far from my family in London and Toronto.”
GRACEN JOHNSON is a communications designer living in The Maritimes. While she finished her MPhil in Planning, Growth, and Regeneration in 2013, she has never stopped studying the city. Gracen thinks of her day-to-day as participatory action research, diving into the question of how Strong Citizenship can transform a city. She wears many hats trying to crack that nut herself, including as the designer and coordinator of an accelerator for small businesses that build community. She also freelances around the vision of "Projects for Places we Love" and has a video blog called Another Place for Me.
This year, Gracen is sharing field notes on her experiences with Strong Citizenship. In this regular column, you'll get snapshots of life as a friendly neighbour in a quintessential Little City that feels like a Big Town.