Every street has someone who remembers it.

Record the people who lived there, then pin their voice to the place and the decade it is about.

Record a memoryExplore the map
Search streets and storytellers

Listen to the street

Fifteen sample memories from Utrecht, told by fictional people about real places. Press play, or open the map to hear more.

Explore all stories on the map

How it works

  1. Recording02:14
    Step 1

    Sit down and record

    A grandmother, a neighbour, the man who ran the bakery. A quiet half hour and a phone are all you need.

  2. Suggested next question

    What did the street smell like on a Saturday morning?

    Ask thisAnother one
    Step 2

    It suggests the next question

    When the conversation pauses, Hereabouts offers a question you can ask, or you can ignore it.

  3. Transcript0:42

    Every Saturday my mother sent me to the bakery with exact money in a handkerchief.

    Step 3

    It writes it down in their words

    The recording becomes a transcript, then a short story that keeps the way they speak.

  4. Twijnstraat, Utrecht1950s
    Step 4

    Pin it to the place and the decade

    Put the memory at the corner where it happened. You confirm the place and the years before it is saved.

Private by default

Nothing leaves your account until you say so. A grandmother’s story can stay a family keepsake forever.

When you are ready, share it with your family circle, or with the neighbourhood. You choose for each memory, and you can change your mind later.

  • Just meDefault

    Where every recording begins. Only you can hear it.

  • Family circle

    The people you invite with a link. Good for a family archive.

  • Everyone on the map

    Anyone who opens the map can hear it, in the place it belongs to.

What the AI does and doesn’t do

It helps with the writing. The memory stays theirs.

It helps with

  • Suggests the next question to ask
  • Writes down what was said
  • Tidies the transcript into a short story, in their words
  • Proposes a place and a decade

It will not

  • Replace the original voice. The recording and the word-for-word transcript are always kept.
  • Save anything for you. You confirm every suggestion first.
  • Get in the way. If it is unavailable, you can do every step by hand.

Why it matters

Local history

Most of what a street used to be lives in people’s heads. When they are gone, nobody wrote it down.

Being listened to

Many older people go days without anyone asking about their lives. A few good questions can change that.

Between generations

A grandchild with a phone becomes the archivist, and learns where their own family comes from.

Ask someone this week. The map can wait; they can’t.

Record a memory