The Internet: a Promise of a New Era for Participatory Design?
Examining its use in contemporary processes.
Participation in the Design of Spaces
Distinguished architect Daniel Libeskind has stressed that a city consists of its citizens and that they, in the spirit of democracy, should be able to participate not only in the creation of the city’s plan regarding its growth but also of its spaces. This position has recently garnered substantial support. Architecture, after all, does not begin and end with the concept of design. It shapes spaces in which the majority of social interactions take place, therefore, consciously or unconsciously, every design defines social relations. However, the people that are included in the design process are limited, with the rest being essentially “hostages” to spaces designed by others for them, guided by their own, subjective understanding of what the needs and wants are.
Participatory design is an approach which calls for the inclusion of everyone that would be affected by the final design in any way in the design process, as opposed to only the designers and clients having any agency over the final result. The extent of the participation can differ substantially depending on the philosophy of the designers. The benefits of this sort of approach are multiple, community building and a…
