DesignManifesT.O. 2020
"Placemaking has the ability to strengthen the connection between people and the places they share" [1]
DM2020 is a participatory action research project that has an inclusive design focus which expands thinking about accessible environments by considering culture, ethnicity, race, ability, and other diverse and intersectional ways of being. Narrative inquiry and co-design practices are methods used for data collection by having participants share stories, generate placemaking ideas together, and responding to and giving feedback on designed research outcomes. The research team, consisting of educators and practitioners, work alongside participants, both listening and collaborating on ideas, in order to learn from lived experiences.
DM2020 was launched as part of the 2019 DesignTO Festival at OCAD U’s Open Gallery at 49 McCaul. This was followed by several community forums in various Toronto locations. In January 2020 DM2020 held the Creative Practice as Protest Youth workshop partnering with Design Justice expert Bryan C. Lee Jr. of Colloqate.org. The Covid-19 pandemic slowed down the data collection process but did manage to hold one virtual forum with members of the Rexdale Youth Mentorship Program (RXYM).
The data points to the fact that communities are aware of the colonial design practices that have historically left them out of planning and design discourse. Citizens are aware of and fighting against injustices around access to space and the exclusion of their voices from planning discussions. These discussions must “address the social, political, material, cultural, and aesthetic needs of people including a community’s unique identity and its aspirations for the greater good of the urban or rural context it resides in” [2].
These exclusions include, among other harms, a lack of respect and unethical practices in developing cities, spaces, and places, as well as the products and services created by designers for people and communities) [3]. Communities have creative strategies (disruptive or otherwise) for placemaking that are shifting the power imbalance. The DM2020 team aims to share these strategies through the publication and distribution of this book of which the content has been codesigned with the participants.
[1] Project for Public Spaces. Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pps.org/
[2] Giraudy, C. & van Kampen, S. (2021). Design for Common Good Needs Some Ground Rules - The Need for Ethical Design Pedagogy in Botta, M. & Junginger, S. (eds.) Design as Common Good / Framing Design through Pluralism and Social Values, Swiss Design Network Symposium 2021, Conference Proceedings. 748–762. ISBN 978-88-7595-108-5
[3] Pitter, J. (2020). About. Canadian Urban Institute. Retrieved December 2, 2020 https://canurb.org/team/jay-pitter/
Acknowledgements
The DM2020 project received funding through an OCAD University Research Seed Grant, and a SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant. The research team is comprised of Associate Professor Cheryl Giraudy from OCAD University and Assistant Professor Saskia van Kampen from San Francisco State University (former OCAD U faculty). Together they have worked with research assistants, Community Mentors, Community Leaders, Creative leaders, and Community members who are tied to placemaking efforts.