Design Seen from the Outside: An Ethnography of Institutional Participatory Design for the City-Making

OVERVIEW

This article is situated in the intersection between anthropological and design knowledge, seeking to understand from an anthropological perspective the practice of participatory design (PD) in city-making projects. The research focuses on an urban redevelopment process in Sydney, critically analysing the cultural and socio-political frameworks where PD operates. In doing so, it highlights the challenges to the democratic ideals of participation while working inside democratic institutions. This study expects to support the need for a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of the social, economic, cultural, and environment dimensions that shape the design practice in an increasingly complex world. Moreover, it builds on the acknowledgement that institutions are challenging arenas of work, but also potential sites for change. As a result, this report offers an exploratory framework to analyse participatory design projects from a cultural and political perspective. It suggests four exploratory areas: the social productions of neighbourhood; urban imaginaries; actors and governance; and everyday life authoritarianism.

Keywords:

• participatory design
• institutioning
• design anthropology
• city-making

Acknowledgments

I thank the Waterloo community for hosting my fieldwork, and I pay my respect to the traditional custodians of the lands I work on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I also thank my supervisors Greg Downey (Macquarie University), Joan Josep Pujada (Universidad Rovira i Virgili), and Jesus Sanz (Complutense University) for their support and guidance during this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the Macquarie University Cotutelle Research Excellence Scholarship and a Macquarie University Fieldwork Research Grant.

Notes on contributors

Mayane Dore

Mayane Dore is an interdisciplinary researcher working across the fields of anthropology, design and urban studies. She has a B.A in Design, a M.A in anthropology, a postgraduate in Human-centred Design, and she is now completing her PhD in anthropology. Her trajectory combines both academic and industry experience as a design researcher in different innovation consultancies. As a design anthropologist, Mayane is interested in the ways anthropology and design can work together as worldmaking processes toward just and sustainable futures.