Co-Producing Place Narratives
Empowering communities through a participatory storytelling urban photography project.
Led by the Welsh School of Architecture, this project engaged young people in Grangetown, Cardiff, to foster skills development, strengthen community connections, and encourage reflection on the area through urban photography.
Through a participatory approach, including interactive workshops, guided photo walks, and group exhibitions, participants explored how urban places are made, unmade, and remade. The project engaged with themes of place identity, urban transformation, cultural vibrancy, and collective memory.
Engagement through storytelling and photography
The project’s key outputs included:
- Two interactive workshops in collaboration with Grangetown Pavillion Youth Forum members
- A co-edited and co-curated photobook capturing diverse perspectives on place identity and urban transformation
- A visual essay that contributed to academic discourse on participatory storytelling
- Two curated exhibitions showcasing participants’ photographic work, one at Grange Pavilion and another at Bute Building, home to the Welsh School of Architecture. These exhibitions provided a platform for dialogue between young participants, Cardiff University students, academic staff, community members, and other interested bodies
Creating impact
The impact of the project extended well beyond its creative outputs to include:
- Skills development – participants gained storytelling and photography skills, equipping them with new tools for self-expression and critical reflection on their urban surroundings
- Community cohesion – by bringing together young people, university students, and the wider community, the project strengthened social connections and cross-generational dialogue
- Empowerment and agency – participants gained confidence to articulate their own narratives and perspectives, fostering a greater sense of belonging and influence over their local community
Next steps
The project team are exploring potential academic and policy impacts through citations, collaborative partnerships, and knowledge exchange activities.
The team continue to maintain connections with community partners in Grangetown to assess how the project has influenced their continued engagement with storytelling, photography, and place-making initiatives and explore further community-driven research.
Contact
For more information about this project, contact:
Dr Nastaran Peimani
Reader in Urban Design
Co-Director of MA Urban Design
Leader of the Urbanism Research Group
Dr Hesam Kamalipour
Reader in Urban Design
Founding Director of Informal Urban Design Research Lab
Co-Founding Director of Public Space Observatory Research Centre
Event Support Assistant
- Yaseen Rehman, BSc Medical Pharmacology student at Cardiff University
