Two Yale professors are using immersive technology to enable connections between communities of color in low-income neighborhoods across four U.S. cities.

Dennis Walton remembers swimming in the new Calvin Moody indoor pool in the dead of winter.

Built in 1978, the 54,000-square-foot complex was a year-round gathering spot in what was then called Franklin Heights, on Milwaukee’s north side.

Recently, groups of residents from Milwaukee and Newark, New Jersey met to share ideas and strategies they use to reduce violence in their respective communities. The conversation gave the groups — both from low-income, mostly black neighborhoods — an opportunity to delve into some weighty topics like prisoner re-entry, and share a few laughs in a face-to-face setting, all while remaining more than 700 miles apart.

It looks like a shipping container, but it's so much more. This gold painted portal is allowing people in Milwaukee to connect with portals in 29 countries. On Friday, thoughts on crime prevention were exchanged. Conversations in the Milwaukee portal are being recorded. The dialogue will be shared with researchers at Yale University, who are trying to better understand the public perception of police.

A local community engagement plan called 500 UNIted NEWark, hosted by Divad Sanders and Shared Studios as part of the Newark Portal project in Military Park, intends to connect with the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative’s project called 500 Fathers United on June 17th, 2016 from 12pm until 4pm in Newark’s Military Park.

The truck-size metal container sitting in a downtown park here isn't meant to raise awareness about the global shipping industry, though it may nudge some people's curiosity in that direction.

A TV piece on the Newark_Portal, engaged in Criminal Justice Dialogues.

What do Newark, New Jersey, and Milwaukee’s Amani neighborhood have in common? They’re both high-crime, high-homicide and highly policed, and right now, a public park in each is hosting a gold-painted shipping container designed to facilitate conversations between the two cities about criminal justice and incarceration.