17: Archive utopias: linking collaborative histories to local democracy
This chapter explores how York’s city archives can be used to open up different kinds of democratic relationships. It focuses on archival collections relating to Hungate, an area of York that was designated a ‘slum’ and demolished by the council during the 1930s. The chapter looks at health inspection records, explores maps and the 1911 census, and reads angry letters from people whose lives were being affected by local government decisions. Seeing the breakdown in relationships between local people and local government — and the way in which this is reflected in cynicism towards the council today — has led to the development of a conceptual intervention this chapter dubs the ‘Utopian Council’. The Utopian Council seeks to imagine and stage a more positive and reciprocal relationship between the council and local people.
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