Exploring Cities of Awe in San Francisco and Oakland
Bay Area
01 — ABOUT THE RESEARCH
What if awe could help us imagine a more connected Bay Area?
The Bay Area has long been a place for imagining new possibilities. Yet even amid its creativity, natural beauty, and cultural richness, it can be hard to feel connected to one another, to the places we share, and to a sense of what we might create together. Inequality, loneliness, eroding trust, and the pace of modern life can leave us feeling fragmented.
Cities of Awe in the Bay Area begins with a different possibility: this distance is not inevitable. In parks, on neighborhood streets, in cultural spaces, and in everyday encounters, we can find moments that surprise and move us, helping us feel part of something larger. We explore how experiences of awe and wonder might help us look up, reach out, and reconnect with the people and places around us, and with our capacity to imagine a better future together.
Exploring civic imagination in a region shaped by care, critique, and collective action.
The Bay Area’s story is about more than technology. Generations of people have challenged the status quo and imagined a different society, from the Black Panther Party to movements for LGBTQ+ rights. Today, that civic imagination can feel distant. Despite abundant resources, bureaucracy and slow change fuel frustration, while grassroots activism has lost momentum.
Still, civic life flourishes in the region’s multicultural neighborhoods, winding streets, street food, and everyday encounters. Awe can arise in these shared experiences, as well as in nature and art. We’re exploring how such moments can expand our civic imagination and help us envision new ways of living together.
02 — CONTEXT
03 — RESEARCH METHODS
Tracing places, listening to experiences, and documenting everyday life.
How do people come to experience awe in the Bay Area? To explore this question we use three research methods (below) and will be done with support from volunteers and community researchers across San Francisco and Oakland.
Field Notes
Documenting everyday moments through pictures and video.
Interviews
Listening to stories from people across the Bay Area
Awe Mapping
Mapping places where something moved you.
We’re exploring how awe and wonder show up in everyday life across the Bay Area. Is there a place or moment in the city that stays with you? Who were you with, and what did you see, hear, or feel? Small memories can offer valuable clues about how people experience the city.
As we begin our first phase of research, we’re looking to connect with people who would like to be part of the work. You might share local knowledge, help us connect with specific communities, or explore how our approaches could complement each other.