On Thursday, 16th April, over 60 people from across Oxfordshire gathered in Oxford Town Hall to co-author a vision of thriving streets and neighbourhoods.

Futurist and time traveller Rob Hopkins ignited imaginations and helped participants see past the constraints and limitations that so often become blockers to expressing our deepest longing for our places. Time to dream and imagine together is a vital muscle to flex for unlocking possibilities even where policy, political or funding constraints exist.

If workshop 1 named what people loved about their places - what they wanted more of, less of and what they wanted to keep away - workshop 2, with the help of collective imagination, moved into a different register altogether. It was so much more about imagining a different kind of life within the street and neighbourhood and there was a tangible shift in emotional vocabulary. Belonging. Joy. Rest. Play. Being a good ancestor. Less about better street infrastructure and much more about what it would feel like to live in them.

Artist and live illustrator Richard Carman worked with groups to develop their ideas on paper - sketching their imaginings independently, then checking back: "Like this? Anything to add?" Ideas were posted to a gallery space, and comments were invited.