“In This Building”
Multimedia, Collaborative, and Place-based Storytelling
Fall 2013 / DUSP 11.S948
Thursday 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. (First Session 9/12/13)
Dates: September 12th – October 24th
Room 9-417 (Community Innovators Lab)
Faculty: J. Philip Thompson
Co-Instructors: Alexa Mills & Steven Wilmsen
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this half-semester course is to produce media about life in cities. Each
student will work in a small group to create a multimedia portrait of one multi-family
residential building in Boston or Cambridge. Each physical building, its history, the land
under it, and the people who live and/or work inside will be considered as part of the
story. Students should think of the subjects of their stories as media makers, too. We will
design media collection strategies that enable building residents to document their own
lives and neighborhoods. Students will prepare final media deliverables with a general
public audience in mind.
Every person has a story worth hearing, an idea worth examining, and knowledge worth
sharing. In that spirit, this course will be as participatory as possible for students and
teachers both inside and outside of the classroom. By the end of the course, we will
have published a record that enables anyone to replicate the experience. Portions of the
course will be open to the public in real time.
CREDITS: 3-0-3 H
TIME & CALENDAR: Thursday 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
* We chose Thursday evening in hopes that an evening would provide more flexibility by
not conflicting with other classes.
ABOUT THE TEACHING TEAM
J. Philip Thompson
Professor of Urban Studies and Planning
Phil is an urban planner and political scientist. Phil worked as Deputy General Manager
of the New York Housing Authority, and as Director of the Mayor's Office of Housing
Coordination. Phil is a frequent advisor to trade unions in their efforts to work with
immigrant and community groups across the United States. Phil's academic work
includes a book called “Double Trouble: Black Mayors, Black Communities and the
Struggle for Deep Democracy” published in 2006 by Oxford University Press. He is
currently writing a book on community building and development since the 1960s.
Alexa Mills
Director of Media Projects at MIT Community Innovators Lab
Alexa is the Media Projects Program Director at MIT Community Innovators Lab. Alexa
founded CoLab Radio, a blog site where people who are committed to improving their
communities can share their projects and express their ideas. She publishes work by a
mix of practitioners, academics, and individual residents on the site.
Steven Wilmsen
Enterprise Editor at The Boston Globe
Steven is the narrative editor, overseeing long-term and news feature stories on the
Metro desk. He is the author of a book, “Silverado: Neil Bush and the Savings and Loan
Scandal,” and his recent projects have earned him the National Headliner Award, Casey
Medal, and Dart Award. Steven edited the breakthrough “68 Blocks” multimedia series
about the Bowdoin-Geneva neighborhood in Dorchester.
COURSE DELIVERABLES
Students will work in small groups. Each group will produce a multimedia deliverable that
tells the story of life in one multi-family dwelling in Boston or Cambridge. For example,
you may produce a mini-documentary about friendships and feuds between neighbors.
Or you may create a web-based audio feature describing the way in which a building
sounds, or a soundscape about children in the building. You could also build an
interactive timeline of the history of this building. Instructors will help you plan an
appropriate and feasible deliverable. We will explore data collection, production, and
presentation techniques throughout the course. We will also include participatory media
strategies for interested building residents. In addition, each student will write at least
one blog post for CoLab Radio.
LEARNING MEDIA PRODUCTION
Mini media production clinics, on topics such as video editing, et cetera, will be available
to students as needed. Students can use writing, photography, video, infographics, data,
maps, audio, and web design as they see fit.
PROPOSED CALENDAR
MON
Sept – 2
8
16
23
TUES
3
10
17
24
WED
4
11
18
25
THURS
5
12 Class 1
19 Class 2
26 Class 3
FRI
6
13
20
27
SAT
7
14
21
28
SUN
8
15
22
29
30
7
14
21
Oct – 1
8
15
22
2
9
16
23
3 Class 4
10 Class 5
17 Class 6
24 Class 7
4
11
18
25
5
12
19
26
6
13
20
27
TOOLS FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
Etherpad
Type your notes in to the class etherpad: http://brownbag.me:9001/p/In_This_Building.
The idea is that we can all learn from each other and we should share collective
knowledge throughout the course. The etherpad has its own unique URL so the notes
will be available even after the course is over. Using the etherpad is easy. Once you
click the link, you can type into it. Each person can pick his or her representative color
via the legend in the top right corner.
Twitter
If you do not have a twitter account, we ask that you create one to use throughout the
course. In the etherpad, each student should include his twitter handle so we can all
follow one another and engage with each other in and between classes.
Blogging
We would like to archive this course and your experiences on MIT CoLab’s blog, CoLab
Radio. We will publish one post after each class session to document the learning
process. By the end of the course, the full blog series will make the course replicable to
any group wishing to conduct a similar course. The notes from the etherpad should help
you write these posts. Posts should be 400-600 words long and can include photos,
videos, and audio.
READING LIST
All readings are available at MIT Libraries. All movies, audio, photos, and interactive web
features are available online.
1. Anderson, Elijah. A Place On the Corner. University of Chicago Press. 1976.
2. Arroyo, John. Art and Culture Mapping on the LA River. CoLab Radio. Boston. 2010.
- Introduction and map 1: http://bit.ly/13KJbsf
- Map 2: http://bit.ly/1eqxRq8
- Map 3: http://bit.ly/1eqxUCv
- Map 4: http://bit.ly/16swCUQ
- Map 5: http://bit.ly/13KJvXV
3. Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. Vintage Books: A Division of Random
House, Inc. New York. 1989.
4. Cizek, Katerina. Highrise / Out My Window. National Film Board of Canada. 2011.
http://interactive.nfb.ca/#/outmywindow
5. Dawson, Brian and Michael Kolomatsky, Stacy Abramson, Alicia DeSantis, Beatrice
de Gea. Beyond the Stoop. The New York Times. 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/07/25/nyregion/25oneblockinteractive.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0
6. DeCarava, Roy and Langston Hughes. The Sweet Flypaper of Life. Simon and
Schuster, Inc. New York. 1955
7. Irons, Meghan E. and Akilah Johnson, Maria Cramer, Jenna Russel,and Andrew
Ryan. Ed. Steven Wilmsen. 68 Blocks: Life, Death, Hope in Boston’s Most Troubled
Neighborhood. The Boston Globe. 2013.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/specials/68blocks
* Read all five articles, watch videos, and view all media features included in sidebar on
the right side of webpage
8. Forester, John. Planning in the Face of Power. Chapter seven, “Listening: The Social
Policy of Everyday Life”. University of California Press. 1989.
9. Marcus, Claire Cooper. House As a Mirror of Self: Exploring the Deeper Meaning of
Home. Nicolas-Hays, Inc. 2006. Berwick, Maine.
10. Ossard, Claudie. Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain. Mirimax. 2001.
*We will watch selections in class. You do not need to watch the entire film.
11. Tichy, Jan. Project Cabrini Green. Chicago. 2011.
http://projectcabrinigreen.org/
COURSE SCHEDULE

Please read “68 Blocks: Life, Death, Hope in Boston’s Most Troubled
Neighborhood” before week 1.
Week 1
- Introductions
- Frame the class, set expectations, introduce shared learning platforms
- “Telling the Story of a Place / Bowdoin-Geneva” lecture & discussion
- Schedule one-on-one meetings with students to discuss goals, ideas,
neighborhoods, and media production experience/goals
Assignment: Complete all course readings. In addition, find one reading or web feature
that you feel fits in with the rest of the list. Plan a 5-minute presentation on the reading or
web feature that you would add to the list.
This week’s blog post: A participation guide for people who would like to follow this
course from a distance, plus a summary of the official reading list.
Week 2
- Students present their selected media
- Discussion of shared readings and web features
- Discuss potential buildings to study
Assignment: Scour Boston and Cambridge in search of a building that you would like to
research for the duration of the course. Conduct preliminary interviews and research.
Come to the week 3 class prepared to present your findings.
This week’s blog post: A round-up post featuring some of the readings and web features
that students selected to add to the official course list.
Week 3
- Students present preliminary research on specific buildings
(Why that neighborhood? Why that building?)
- Discuss findings
- Choose groups and sites
Assignment: Make a list of all the information you need about your building. Include
quantitative, structural, and historical information. Who do you want to interview? What
historical data do you need? How will you get it? Divide the list with between your group
member(s) and begin collecting information.
This week’s blog post: Write a reflection on what it was like to search for a site. Include
maps and photos of your process.
Week 4
- “Engaging current residents” lecture and discussion
- Students present lists and their research thus far. Students exchange ideas
about what information is important and how to get it. Alter research plans
accordingly.
- One-on-one meetings with course instructors
Assignment: Continue research. Write an outline and/or draft a visual representation of
your final deliverable.
This week’s blog post: Write a reflection on what it’s like to research your site. Include
links to your best sources and explain your challenges. Include photos, maps, images,
audio files, and video as necessary.
Week 5
- Present a first draft of your final deliverable. Class will discuss challenges,
opportunities, and solutions together.
- One-on-one meetings with course instructors
Assignment: Continue developing your final deliverable.
This week’s blog post: None.
Week 6
- Present an improved draft of your final deliverable.
- One-on-one meetings with course instructors
Assignment: Finalize your building profile.
This week’s blog post: During weeks 6 and 7 students will have the opportunity to
present each building portrait.
Week 7
Students will share their final deliverables to a panel of planners, journalists, featured
building residents, and other guests.
Blog post: During weeks 6 and 7 students will have the opportunity to present each
building portrait. Course instructors will write a wrap-up of the final presentation.