SENIOR PROJECT
Forming Identity through Memory, History, and Place
Over the course of my senior year, I developed a walking tour in Seattle's Central District neighborhood. My research explores the question: How is identity shaped by our built environment? This research also seeks to preserve the historic identity of Seattle's central district neighborhood through the memories of its residents. It is my hope that by understanding the relationship between the built environment and human consciousness, and I will learn how to design spaces that nourish the human soul while honoring its physical history.
To examine these questions, I conducted an extensive literature review on theories about place and identity, storytelling, and the human experience of place. I also published an online survey through Survey Monkey and conducted eight oral interviews of central district residents. Two composite walking tours were then created from the physical places in the stories of residents. Each tour highlights the overlap in their experiences, values, and identities. Through storytelling, archival research, and the physical movement in these spaces, I hope demonstrate a connection between memory, history, and place.
My final product, a narrated walking tour, serves as a mechanism to bring people together, to educate the public about the central district, and to highlight the interplay between spatial geography and social identity. The tour conjures lost places and memories into the physical world and serves as an urban planning tool to heal displaced communities. As Seattle continues to grow and change, experiences such as this walking tour provide a living, breathing example of our shared history to anchor old residents while inspiring new citizens to honor our natural and built environment.