Broadening participation, creating community, and learning that it never goes as planned

Abstract

This paper presents the experience of a service-learning course which used community geography to study a proposed research and community center in DeKalb, IL. The center was proposed as a jointly-developed project by the Northern Illinois University and local governmental entities. The original goal of the course was to explore the viability of the proposed project and solicit feedback from the community through traditional engaged planning and public participation. As students began interacting with university and residential communities, it became clear that both communities had input for the center, and found similarities in their experiences and perceptions. While noted divisions in interest groups are known in DeKalb, both communities found themselves surprisingly interested in meaningful discussion to better understand each other through their shared experiences. In response, our theoretical approach shifted to community geography. Students, university employees, and local residents introduced and analyzed questions together as researchers and participants, and developed recommendations to address shared concern. Students then prepared a report advocating for those concerns to submit to university and community leaders. Following the evolution of this project, this paper presents lessons learned and areas for application of community geography as a pedagogical technique, as an important component of geography curriculum, and as a research framework for town-gown relationship inquiry.