Imagine Southwark

Inspired by 

Imagine Chicago

 During the summer of 1993 and spring of 1994,"Imagine Chicago" established a city wide interview process involving 50 young people, who interviewed approximately 140 Chicago citizens. These citizens included artists, media executives, civic and grass roots leaders, politicians, professional leaders, and other young people. Questions asked by the young people included:

When you think about the whole city of Chicago, are there particular places or people or images that represent the city to you?

Thinking back over your Chicago memories, what have been high points for you as a citizen of this city?

What changes in the city would you most like to see?

What do you imagine your own role might be in helping to make this happen?

Who could work with you?

Close your eyes and imagine Chicago as you most want it to be a generation from now. What is it like? What do you see and hear? What are you proudest of having accomplished?

What do you think would be an effective process for getting people across the city talking and working together on behalf of Chicago's future?

Whom would you want to draw into a Chicago conversation?

Upon completion of the interview process, the young people spent several weeks summarizing the data for public view. The summary was shared in numerous public events and helped bring people together across boundaries of age, race, experience, and economics to reflect on their relationship with the city. This has resulted in many positive changes in the city of Chicago.

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