Participatory mapping reveals spatial exclusion of marginalized youth
Engaging marginalized youth directly in mapping their urban environments can uncover spatial injustices and exclusion that are invisible from top-down perspectives.
Academic Publication · 2011
Key Findings
- 01Street girls' mobilities and activity spaces are significantly intersected and altered by state-sponsored urban renewal projects and social cleansing initiatives.
- 02Participatory mapping, when driven by youth, can create a 'youth vision of the city' that challenges dominant, often exclusionary, representations of urban space.
- 03An ethical approach to research with excluded populations requires critical field praxis and care ethics, positioning young people as principal research actors.
Application
Design takeaway
To design inclusive urban spaces, actively involve marginalized youth in the research and design process using methods that allow them to express their spatial realities and experiences of exclusion.
How to apply
When designing public spaces, community facilities, or urban policies, initiate co-design workshops with local youth, particularly those from underrepresented groups, using mapping and visual methods to understand their needs and challenges.
Project actions
- 01Consider using participatory mapping or visual methods to understand user experiences.
- 02Reflect on how your design might exclude or include specific user groups.
- 03Prioritize ethical engagement with participants, especially vulnerable ones.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Employs innovative participatory methods to give voice to a marginalized population.
- +Provides a deep, contextualized understanding of urban exclusion through spatial analysis.
Limitations
The findings are specific to the context of Bogotá and the particular group of street youth studied. Replicating this research would require significant time and resources for deep engagement.
Reliability & validity
Reliability is enhanced through the triangulation of multiple qualitative methods (geo-ethnography, auto-photography, participatory writing, mapping). Validity is strengthened by the deep engagement with participants and the participatory nature of the research, ensuring the findings reflect the participants' realities.
Think critically
How might the power dynamics between researchers and participants influence the 'youth vision' produced, and what steps could be taken to further mitigate these dynamics?
Design Principles
"Empower marginalized voices through participatory research and co-design to ensure equitable and inclusive spatial outcomes."
This research highlights the critical need to involve end-users, especially those from vulnerable populations, in the design and planning process. Their lived experiences and spatial knowledge offer invaluable insights that can lead to more equitable and inclusive urban design and policy.
What This Means for Your Design
When designing for cities, it's important to ask young people who live on the streets what they think and how they use the city. Their ideas can show us how to make places fairer for everyone.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing the importance of user research, particularly with marginalized groups, and the value of participatory design methods in uncovering hidden spatial issues.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
(2011). A Youth Vision of the City: The Socio-Spatial Lives and Exclusion of Street Girls in Bogota, Colombia. Academic Publication. https://doi.org/10.25148/etd.fi11072511 Retrieved from https://designdex.org/study/42af7c84-d2e1-476a-bb6a-e76de21aff5f/participatory-mapping-reveals-spatial-exclusion-of-marginalized-youth
Paragraph starter
This research underscores the critical role of user-centered design, particularly when engaging with marginalized populations. By employing participatory methods such as geo-ethnography and mapping with street youth in Bogotá, the study revealed how urban renewal and social cleansing initiatives contribute to spatial exclusion. This highlights the necessity for designers to actively involve end-users, especially vulnerable groups, in the design process to ensure equitable and inclusive outcomes, moving beyond top-down planning to incorporate lived spatial experiences.
Source
Academic Publication
A Youth Vision of the City: The Socio-Spatial Lives and Exclusion of Street Girls in Bogota, Colombia
journal · 2011
View sourceQuestions about this research
- What does the research say about participatory mapping reveals spatial exclusion of marginalized youth?
- To design inclusive urban spaces, actively involve marginalized youth in the research and design process using methods that allow them to express their spatial realities and experiences of exclusion. Evidence: Academic Publication (2011).
- Why does "Participatory mapping reveals spatial exclusion of marginalized youth" matter for design?
- This research highlights the critical need to involve end-users, especially those from vulnerable populations, in the design and planning process. Their lived experiences and spatial knowledge offer invaluable insights that can lead to more equitable and inclusive urban design and policy.
- How can designers apply this research?
- To design inclusive urban spaces, actively involve marginalized youth in the research and design process using methods that allow them to express their spatial realities and experiences of exclusion.
- What were the main findings?
- Street girls' mobilities and activity spaces are significantly intersected and altered by state-sponsored urban renewal projects and social cleansing initiatives.. Participatory mapping, when driven by youth, can create a 'youth vision of the city' that challenges dominant, often exclusionary, representations of urban space.. An ethical approach to research with excluded populations requires critical field praxis and care ethics, positioning young people as principal research actors.
- What research method was used?
- Participatory Action Research (PAR) with geo-ethnographic methods, auto-photography, and participatory mapping. with 33 participants.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2011 journal from Academic Publication.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing public spaces, community facilities, or urban policies, initiate co-design workshops with local youth, particularly those from underrepresented groups, using mapping and visual methods to understand their needs and challenges.
- What are the limitations?
- The findings are specific to the context of Bogotá, Colombia, and may not be directly generalizable to all urban settings. The study's focus on street girls may not represent the experiences of all marginalized urban youth.
- Is there evidence that marginalized youth affects design outcomes?
- Marginalized youth experience urban spaces differently due to external interventions like urban renewal and social cleansing, and their perspectives, when actively sought through participatory methods like mapping, can reveal these exclusionary dynamics. This research highlights the critical need to involve end-users, Source: Academic Publication (2011).
- Where does this urban spaces research apply?
- Urban planning, social geography, youth studies, design research with marginalized communities. It sits within user-centred design research on designdex.org.
Related research topics
marginalized youth design research · evidence on marginalized youth · does marginalized youth improve design outcomes · urban spaces studies for designers · marginalized youth and urban spaces findings · user-centred design research evidence