We set off with great purpose, our steadfast party, emboldened by our ambitious goal: to settle ourselves anew, to leave the past behind and forge a communal identity of our own, unburdened by guilt, shame, or undue expectation. A new home. Like-minded individuals from near and far will be welcome to join in this endeavour to reinvent, for reinvention is an act of mercy that will release future generations from horrors past. We will be our own founding fathers and mothers. We will untether ourselves from old ways, holding reins firmly in hand. Let no one disparage our unique normality. To each their own destiny; to each the best of all possible worlds.

—The Good Doctor P., “A True and Exact Anecdotal History of The Neighbourhood, Vol.1”

Purportedly, “The Great Exposition” was supposed to showcase cultural, scientific, and commercial achievements in The Neighbourhood to a global audience. As with similar World Fairs and exhibitions, the exposition was expected to stimulate tourism, strengthen a developing national identity, fortify a local sense of pride, and most importantly attain “respectability” for this fledgling community. But was this everyone’s dream? As the ephemera I have collected illustrate, there was constant conflict between the Governing Body’s “official narrative” and the desires of the residents. Life in The Neighbourhood had not evolved as envisioned, something had gone very wrong.

—Ewan Atkinson, “Flights of Fancy, Fantasy and Farce; The Great Exposition”

As with pieces of a secondhand puzzle, there is no guarantee that I will “complete the picture”. I have discerned that The Neighbourhood was founded at some point in the last third of the twentieth century, but its location is still undeterminable. Much will remain elusive; such is the nature of this kind of investigation. My interests lie in comparison, what might this study reveal about how we comprehend the worlds in which we live?

—Ewan Atkinson, “The Neighbourhood: Coincidence or Continuum?”

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

Won’t you be my neighbor?

Won’t you please,

Won’t you please?

Please won’t you be my neighbor?

— Fred Rogers “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood”