What you do is walk through your neighborhood as a small group and ask questions of what you are noticing and experiencing. Mata [Michael Mata, urban development director for World Vision US] had us ask questions like these:
- How is space used? Is there a sense that people are welcome here? Are there sidewalks or bike lanes? Are there bars on the windows or high gates or hedges?
- What kinds of homes do people live in? How are they kept up? How many people are living in the average home or apartment?
- What political signs do you notice? Billboards? What are their messages? What might they reveal about who lives here, how they vote and what they buy?
- What do you hear? What languages are people speaking? Do you hear children playing or crying?
- What kinds of vehicles do you see?
- What kinds of symbols do you notice? Religious, economic, political?
- Who do you see? What are their ages? Ethnic backgrounds? Socioeconomic status?
- Who are the authority figures here? Are there police? Is their presence welcome or unwelcome?
Most important, Mata insisted that we look not only for problems in the community but for signs of hope [like the potential of a vacant lot]…. [H]e had us listen for the resources, the gifts, the possibilities, the strengths of the community, even if we had to get imaginative with them.
— Adam S. McHugh in The Listening Life