![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a1cb93d7ceb0c0001289f06/63feb30f57c2b7b4d5707705_Raleigh-Project-02.jpg)
Right: My first day interviewing residents and photographing neighborhood motifs to incorporate into illustrations.
Research
Defining Raleigh's Neighborhoods
Raleigh is a rapidly growing southern city in North Carolina. Its neighborhoods have been shifting, growing, and disappearing over the past 50 years. When I started to research Raleigh’s neighborhoods in 2021, I found that a single cohesive map of Raleigh downtown neighborhoods doesn’t exist yet. All the maps I found in my research were incomplete and tended to focus on the protected, historically white neighborhoods over the lesser known historically Black neighborhoods.
Before I could even start illustrating, I had to identify every neighborhood so all downtown communities were honored and represented. For several months I walked every quadrant of Raleigh and interviewed residents in person and asked them to outline their neighborhoods on my ipad, which I cross referenced with official documentation from local historians and professors in the area.
I ultimately identified over 30 neighborhoods. While exploring, I photographed visual motifs in architecture and foliage so every inch of my map would align with the physical motifs of the neighborhoods themselves.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a1cb93d7ceb0c0001289f06/63feb5df71f3fdab5c1dd0a3_Raleigh-Project-03.jpg)
Right: Research notes of Raleigh's Black neighborhoods by name, significance, and referenced motifs
Hand Lettering
Capturing Neighborhood Character
I hand-lettered the names of the 30+ neighborhoods I identified in an effort to capture the *vibe* if you will of each location. I drew inspiration from signs, historic hand lettering, and local designers.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a1cb93d7ceb0c0001289f06/63feb71de10165701f4c55ed_Raleigh-Project-04.jpg)
2. More precise hand sketching
3. Final refinement within the larger illustration
Illustration
Bringing each neighborhood to life
I drew from the shops, architecture, traditions, foliage, history, and geography unique to each neighborhood to fill the map with dense illustrations. Every element on the map is there for a reason.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a1cb93d7ceb0c0001289f06/63fec25240f8ce0a2e7a87d9_glenwood-brooklyn%20(1).jpg)
Final Map
After feedback from local Raleigh residents and local historian Carmen Cauthen, the map is produced and ready to distribute.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a1cb93d7ceb0c0001289f06/6498fd11be66cac8672523e8_Final_Map_CityofOaksSm.jpg)