people making parks - a participatory design process
I just came across this interesting example of a participatory design process that is taking place in NYC — I found it here, on the Urban Omnibus (the photos as well).
I am just now reading it, but it looked so good I thought I would share immediately. Here are some tidbits:
People Make Parks is an initiative that will strive to bring communities and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation together to create a true culture of collaboration around capital parks projects. The strategies for sharing and adding to the resulting kit of tools, resources, case studies and best practices will include an interactive, web-based platform, print publications and an exhibition.
Two of the driving forces behind this initiative, Anoo Siddiqi of the Hester Street Collaborative and Hillary Angelo of Partnerships for Parks, sit down to discuss the ideas behind it and how it works, probing the nature and underlying assumptions of participatory design practice in New York’s public spaces today. -C.S.
The article is based on a Q& A format between Anoo and Hillary, and Hillary summarizes the project in this way:
Anoo Siddiqi: How would you articulate the specific goals of the People Make Parks initiative?
Hillary Angelo: What we’re trying to do is to raise awareness in the Parks Department and the design community about the possibilities for participatory design. What we’re doing right now is creating something we’re calling a “toolkit,” which will be a web-based collection of translation tools that will help community groups across the city participate more effectively in park planning. So it’s going to be a mix of input-gathering and hands-on tools, and also really basic information on the capital design process, how the Parks Department works, and how parks get built.
…looks like interesting reading that might provide some insights for the many communities in Montréal currently trying to have a say in how their communities are developed.
Read the whole article.
