Short answer
Integrate residents as active co-creators, leveraging their 'resident-expert' knowledge to design more effective and contextually relevant urban infrastructure.
- Field
- Innovation & Design
- Source
- Science Technology & Human Values (2024)
- Method
- Ethnographic research and case study analysis.
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Engaging residents as 'resident-experts' in urban regeneration projects can lead to the co-production of sustainable infrastructure by leveraging their unique knowledge and fostering a sense of ownership. This innovation & design research insight is drawn from a 2024 study published in Science Technology & Human Values. Using Ethnographic research and case study analysis., researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Integrate residents as active co-creators, leveraging their 'resident-expert' knowledge to design more effective and contextually relevant urban infrastructure.
Empowering 'Resident-Experts' to Co-Design Sustainable Urban Infrastructure
Engaging residents as 'resident-experts' in urban regeneration projects can lead to the co-production of sustainable infrastructure by leveraging their unique knowledge and fostering a sense of ownership.
Science Technology & Human Values · 2024
Key Findings
- 01Designerly interventions can mobilize residents to act as 'resident-experts', contributing unique knowledge to urban design.
- 02This mobilization leads to the co-production of urban infrastructure and the public, focusing on immediate, ordinary-scale regeneration.
- 03The rights enacted for the public are primarily those of city-users, emphasizing practical usability over legal protections.
Application
Design takeaway
Integrate residents as active co-creators, leveraging their 'resident-expert' knowledge to design more effective and contextually relevant urban infrastructure.
How to apply
When undertaking urban development or regeneration projects, establish participatory design workshops where residents can share their experiences and propose solutions as knowledgeable contributors.
Project actions
- 01When researching a design problem, look for opportunities to involve potential users in the early stages of idea generation.
- 02Document how user input directly influences design decisions and outcomes.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Provides a novel framework for understanding user involvement in infrastructure design.
- +Emphasizes the practical, user-centric outcomes of participatory design.
Limitations
It can be challenging to recruit and manage a diverse group of 'resident-experts', and their input may sometimes conflict with established planning regulations or expert opinions.
Reliability & validity
The ethnographic approach provides rich qualitative data, but generalizability may be limited. Validity is strengthened by focusing on the co-production of infrastructure and public, and the specific enactment of user rights.
Think critically
To what extent can the concept of 'resident-experts' be generalized to different cultural contexts and types of infrastructure projects beyond urban regeneration?
Design Principles
"Involve end-users as 'resident-experts' in the design process to ensure infrastructure development is responsive to local needs and fosters collective ownership."
This approach shifts the paradigm from top-down planning to a more collaborative model, recognizing the value of lived experience in addressing complex urban challenges. It can lead to more relevant, resilient, and socially accepted infrastructure solutions.
What This Means for Your Design
When designing things for a city, it's really helpful to ask the people who live there for their ideas and treat them like experts because they know their neighbourhood best. This can lead to better, more sustainable city features.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this research to justify a participatory design approach in your design project, explaining how involving 'resident-experts' can lead to better solutions.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This research highlights the value of 'designerly interventions' that empower residents as 'resident-experts' in co-producing sustainable urban infrastructure. By integrating their unique, lived experiences, design projects can achieve greater relevance and foster a stronger sense of community ownership, leading to more effective and resilient urban environments.
Source
Science Technology & Human Values
A Sustainable City Made By Resident-Experts - How Designerly Intervention Enacted Rights of the Public and Urban Infrastructure
journal · 2024
View sourceRelated studies
Questions About This Research
- What does the research say about empowering 'resident-experts' to co-design sustainable urban infrastructure?
- Integrate residents as active co-creators, leveraging their 'resident-expert' knowledge to design more effective and contextually relevant urban infrastructure. Evidence: Science Technology & Human Values (2024).
- Why does "Empowering 'Resident-Experts' to Co-Design Sustainable Urban Infrastructure" matter for design?
- This approach shifts the paradigm from top-down planning to a more collaborative model, recognizing the value of lived experience in addressing complex urban challenges. It can lead to more relevant, resilient, and socially accepted infrastructure solutions.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Integrate residents as active co-creators, leveraging their 'resident-expert' knowledge to design more effective and contextually relevant urban infrastructure.
- What were the main findings?
- Designerly interventions can mobilize residents to act as 'resident-experts', contributing unique knowledge to urban design.. This mobilization leads to the co-production of urban infrastructure and the public, focusing on immediate, ordinary-scale regeneration.. The rights enacted for the public are primarily those of city-users, emphasizing practical usability over legal protections.
- What research method was used?
- Ethnographic research and case study analysis..
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2024 journal from Science Technology & Human Values.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When undertaking urban development or regeneration projects, establish participatory design workshops where residents can share their experiences and propose solutions as knowledgeable contributors.
- What are the limitations?
- The findings are based on specific case studies in Seoul and may not be universally applicable without adaptation. The focus on 'user rights' as distinct from legal rights might present challenges in broader policy integration.