[Writing] Create a lesson on writing about neighborhoods

[elipousson]

Neighborhood histories are often broader than the history of a single house or building but still present a manageable project. A neighborhood history is often a composite history of a variety of built features in a broader landscape including:

• Opening and paving of major and minor streets
• Transportation infrastructure (streetcars, busses, highways, bridges, rail lines, etc.)
• Expansion of infrastructure (water service, phones, electricity)
• Early residents/property-owners in the vicinity
• Parks and public spaces
• Churches or religious buildings
• Commercial or industrial businesses, employers
• Institutional/educational buildings (hospitals, schools, colleges, court houses, police stations)

Descriptions of these physical components can be combined with information about the residents and population of the neighborhood. Key questions include:

• Why did people move to the area or build homes in the area?
• What values did the residents hold? How did those values change over time?
• How did the residents perceive their community? How did they perceive the city outside their community?
• How has the neighborhood been shaped by demographics and identity? (race, class, ethnicity, income, age, religion, gender, sexuality, etc.)