RAFTT design diary #1

Geeks for Social Change has extensive experience working with local history projects. We believe that “every neighbourhood on Earth has a plethora of stories that are completely unknown outside it.” Our previous work includes The Cassowary Project, Hulme History, Dear Friend, and community history initiatives that demonstrate how archiving local narratives can foster solidarity and understanding within communities.

Project Goals

We aim to create accessible public history archives where communities can explore their own heritage through photographs, maps, newspaper articles, letters, and oral testimonies. Critically, these projects must be free to maintain, use open-source technology, and present information with narrative coherence rather than as unorganized collections.

The Rise and Fall of Two Towers

The first major project is a collaboration with First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO). It focuses on a hyperlocal history of two soon-to-be-demolished tower blocks. Working with local archives, theaters, and community groups, we gathered research through community events, market stalls, and direct outreach to current and former residents.

Design Approach: Themes Over Maps

We rejected using a map as the primary navigation tool because “the geographic area being covered here is small, and centred around two tall towers.” Instead, we identified emerging themes like celebrations, community centers, key personalities, and challenges as the organizing principle.

Content Structure

Rather than presenting long interviews as single items, we break down contributions into bite-sized snippets across media formats—text, audio, video, and images. The proposed site structure includes theme browsing, individual content exploration, and contextual metadata (contributor, timeframe, related groups).

The design acknowledges the tension between accommodating casual browsers and “cover-to-cover” readers while remaining flexible enough to accommodate both small numbers of in-depth contributors and large numbers of brief submissions.