Participatory Cultural Mapping An Evolutionary Approach with a Revolutionary Picture in Mind

Participatory Cultural Mapping An Evolutionary Approach with a Revolutionary Picture in Mind Saad Aqeel Alzrooni || MFA Design Management || SCAD, 2011

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Acknowledgements I would like to thank and acknowledge all the different people in the city of Dalton who have made this project possible. I begin by thanking Mr. Ty Ross, City Administrator for his collaborative efforts and support throughout this entire process. I would also like to thank all of the key informant interview participants for taking the time to speak with me and for providing me with valuable insights about the project. Finally, I would like to thank the community members of Dalton who participated in the online survey and the cultural mapping focus group.

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contents Preface.................................................................................................. 4 Executive Summary............................................................................... 5 Introduction........................................................................................... 7 Design Overview.................................................................................... 8 Application Platform Design: My City My Spot Purpose........................................................................................... 16 Practical Justifications.................................................................... 17 User Description.............................................................................. 18 Information Flow.............................................................................. 20 Storyboard of User Experience.......................................................... 21 Prototype......................................................................................... 22 Features & Functionality.................................................................. 24 Benefits & Shortcomings................................................................. 26 Expansion & Possibilities................................................................. 27 Next Steps....................................................................................... 29 Assessing Costs.............................................................................. 30 Value Proposition............................................................................. 31 Appendix A: Glossary of Terms............................................................ 33 Appendix B: Cultural Resource Framework......................................... 37 Works Cited......................................................................................... 40

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Preface The engagement between SCAD and the City of Dalton, Georgia – a.k.a.“Carpet Capital of the World” – began in 2009 with conversations between Dalton’s city officials, council members, carpet industry leaders and Victor Ermoli, dean of the School of Design. During that summer several initiatives were launched: a large-scale internship program that embedded SCAD students in Dalton carpet companies and an interdisciplinary project involving Design Management, Urban Design, and Architecture students.

SCAD students and faculty wish to extend their appreciation to the City of Dalton for providing these opportunities to assist their community in envisioning its next steps. We especially thank the people of Dalton who have graciously shared their time and thoughts with us and have engaged in serious conversations about what’s next for their town. They have inspired us.

We hope that our work has helped to inspire the people of Dalton in casting the vision for their future. We hope to share in the process and in the journey.

Christine Miller, Ph.D. Professor, Design Management

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Executive Summary In today’s knowledge based economy, the complexity of decision making in cultural planning and policy requires innovative tool capable of linking contents related to culture, place and economic development. This project aimed toward suggesting a baseline of information for cultural mapping that can form the foundation for continuing the mapping in the city of Dalton and put in place a partnership framework to sustain the mapping system.

The focus of this document is to propose a design concept that demonstrates a practical application of cultural mapping. The proposed design included in this document has eight parts as follow: purpose, practical applications, user description, prototype, features and functionality, benefits, shortcoming of the proposed design, and next step in design process. The document also provide an evaluation form to see how well does the design concept fit into the realm of participatory planning.

It is hoped that the proposed design concept opens the door for more discussions on how to invite Dalton’s citizen to share and participate in defining and identifying their cultural assets via dynamic platform for collaboration.

“ There is growing

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understanding that cultural vitality is critical to sustainable local communities. Just as municipalities identify other valued community resources, Cultural Mapping enables cultural resources to be identified and integrated into planning and decision-making.�

Municipal Cultural Planning (2010). Cultural Resource Mapping: A Guide for Municipalities. P.7

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Introduction Cultural mapping is getting more acceptance as an vital planning and economic development tool. It basically helps put together a stronger knowledge base for planning and decision-making in cultural development. The practice of Cultural Resource Mapping has developed in the context of Municipal Cultural Planning, which is defined by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture as Municipal cultural planning (MCP) for identifying and leveraging a community’s cultural resources and integrating those culturalresources across all facets of municipal government planning and decision making.

a geo-database, meaning that whenever possible, the information includes a geographic reference point. “ Cultural Resource Mapping is an ongoing process. Many of its benefits can only be achieved through sustained efforts to update cultural resource data and compare it over time, which requires continued resources and ongoing partnerships.”* * Municipal Cultural Planning (2010). Cultural Resource Mapping: A Guide for Municipalities. P.7 Map B 4U P lan : Cultural Mapping

Cultural Ma p p i n g

Cultural Mapping -What is it?

Cultural Mapping is a systematic approach to identifying, recording and classifying a community’s cultural resources in order to describe and visualize them.It is basically a database. Cultural Resource Mapping begins with building and maintaining a centralized database that helps to organize and communicate information. It is about building

Resource Mapping “Tangibles”

Quantitative Method

Identity Mapping “Intangibles”

Qu a l i t a t i v e Me t h o d

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Practical Applications of Cultural Mapping Planning & Policy A stronger base of information on culture informs evidencebased planning by the city and other community and businesses agencies.

tourism marketing & promotion

cultural programming

Information on cultural resources collected through mapping can be translated into searchable web-based maps to raise awareness of culture for both residents and visitors.

The stories identified through identity mapping can help create thematic routes to enrich the tourism experience.

Mapping can help enhance cultural programs delivered by cultural organizations, schools, and other community and business groups by building application platform, a web accessible base of relevant information and resources.

Source: Authenticity (2007), Culture, Economy, Community

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Design Overview How “My City My Spot” Started How to transform soft data into sharp insights that can help us realize the strategic applications of community’s cultural assets? With this question in mind I developed My City My Spot, a design concept for an application platform that supports collecting information and consolidates existing sources of information. The process of consolidation of data is informed by the application of a Cultural Resource Framework (CRF) to the data. The CRF is basically a set of categories of cultural resources to support cultural planning and development. It about collecting soft data and turn them into sharp insights for future cultural planning and development.

During the research process, I asked the question, How can we visualize our cultural landscapes and how do we know it when we see it? How can Internet technology and social network media help us to share information with the general public and stakeholders. Can I develop a concept for an application platform that encourages people to participate in mapping their cultural resources. In approaching this project, I explored various research areas related to design thinking, participatory design research, cultural planning, urban ethnography and knowledge visualization methods.

My City My Spot is the result of these varied fields and disciplines.

This concept design for application platform was proposed to ensure the cultural mapping processes include a proactive public involvement component. Internet technology could help revolutionize the process by recognizing that people “Have a Stake” in planning for their cultural development. A web-based platform for cultural mapping is designed to involve stakeholders with meaningful public access to cultural contents and information. Stakeholders may be people, groups or organizations who care about or might be affected by a city council action.

To develop a cultural mapping system we Mapto B4U Plan :data The usefrom of Social Media Tools need draw different sources.

Cit y Statistics Tour ism Events Cultural Database

“ The Open Data movement

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is gaining momentum around the world, supporting the notion that certain data should be freely available to everyone. Cultural resource data represents a wide gamut of information and in some cases is restricted from public use for good reason.

However, much of the same data used to inform strategic decisions with Cultural Resource Mapping could easily be shared with members of the public.�

Municipal Cultural Planning (2010). Cultural Resource Mapping: A Guide for Municipalities. P.7

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Design Model Participatory Planning vs. Traditional Methods Service Offering vs. Traditional Planning Survey Methods

TRADITIONAL METHODS

QUANTITATIVE STUDY $$$

PLANNING

PARTICIPATORY PLANNING

CHANGE

BUILD PLATFORM $

Participatory cultural mapping provides a cost-effective Participatory cultural mapping provides a cost-effective dynamic, and information-rich alternative to traditional dynamic, and information-rich alternative to traditional expensive cultural survey services.

A small upfront expensive cultural survey services.

A small upfront investment in in such a toola enables users to users becometo become active investment such tool enables active contributors to cultural planning mapping efforts contributors to cultural planning mapping efforts for the for the city. In exchange for providing this free city.

In exchange providing this not freeto application to application to users, for the city gains access a one-timethe study mustaccess be updated users, citythat gains not(attosignificant a one-time study that cost) periodically, but rather a constant flow of must be updated (at significant cost) periodically, but information on cultural resources and community rather a constant flow of information cultural resources assets within geographical context.

The serviceonalso has the added benefit of capturing and community assets withinqualitative, geographical context. The experiential data shared by those users, contributing to service also has the added benefit of capturing qualitative, a sense of place that cannot be documented by experiential data shared by those users, contributing to a traditional survey methods. sense of place that cannot be documented by traditional survey methods.

USER INFORMATION FREE

PLANNING

CHANGE

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Data Architecture Layering of Qualitative & Quantitative Geographic Data Qualitative and Quantitative Geography

qualitative information (experiences & perception) shared by individuals

quantitative data on known cultural assets

COMMUNITY IDENTITY

CULTURAL RESOURCES & ASSETS streets & geographical features

PHYSICAL MAP

Layering cultural data on a physical map gives geographical context to the quantitative data collected on the city’s cultural Layering cultural data on a physical map gives geographical context to the quantitative data collected on the city’s cultural assets. Using assets.

Usingtechnology geolocation technology tamdem with tools social networking toolstoitvisualize becomes possibleintangible to visualize geolocation in tamdem with in social networking it becomes possible qualitative data,qualitative such as the intangible such as the individual community members’ experiences and relate perceptions of place, and howcultural these resources relate to the individualdata, community members’ experiences and perceptions of place, and how these to the existing catalogued that support that community. existing catalogued cultural resources that support that community.

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Cultural Resource Framework

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People & Neighborhoods Governm ent Phy s Eco ical Ins nomy tit uti on al Cu

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Non-Profi t Cultura l Organiza tions

Festivals & Events

The illustration of the Cultural Resource Framework shows the eight categories that help summarize a community’s tangible and intangible cultural assets.

S an

Community identity

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Na

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Community Assets

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Relig

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Cultural Resources

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My city my spot

A Conceptual Captology Design

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design challenge Design a platform that motivates diverse user groups to share information and content related to cultural assets, identities, and stories in their communities.

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My City My Spot Persuasive Purpose 1. Increase opportunities for public participation by enabling users to become active contributors to cultural planning and mapping efforts for the city, thus seeing a return on their contributions of time and effort.

2. D esign a concept that takes advantage of social media tools and interactive map applications to extract and visualize information from various sources in support of an ongoing cultural mapping process.

Justifications 1. Strengthen the information base needed to inform planning and make better evidence-based decisions in cultural and broader policy agendas.

2. Strengthen marketing and promotion of local cultural assets to residents and visitors and can serve as the foundation for authentic place branding to support tourism initiatives.

3. C reating dynamic web application as windows for local cultural content to expand access and provide opportunities for public participation.

Tear Here >

how would your map look?

My City My Spot

The best way to understand cultural mapping is to make your own map!

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My City My Spot

Use this space to draw your city the way you see it and experience it. Then keep it or share it if you like.

Create your cultural map

TO:

User Description Cultural Resource Mapping can be a useful tool for a range of constituencies. For policy-makers, it is a research tool that identifies resources and can illustrate links and trends. Municipal decision-makers and other leaders can use it to inform decisions and better communicate with the public. Similarly, culture and tourism organizations and businesses benefit from a broad set of cultural information that can help to plan and focus their efforts.

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intangible assets emotional connection

CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING

CIVIC INFLUENCE

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My City My Spot Information Flow Information Flow of Applied Cultural Mapping INDIRECT USER INPUT (via existing social media)

DIRECT USER INPUT (via platform)

COLLECT & VISUALIZE

LAYER w/ CULTURAL RESOURCES & PHYSICAL MAP

DIRECT USER CONSUMPTION (via platform)

ANALYZE & INTERPRET

CIVIC PLANNER USE (via visualizations/reports)

CIVIC TOURISM

PROJECT & COMPARE

PLAN & IMPLEMENT

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

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My City My Spot User Experience Storyboard The city council, chamber of commence and local cultural organizations come together for the purpose of discussing future cultural development projects and to brainstorm a community vision for the improving the quality of life in the city.

1. Walking through his neighborhood, Bill stops to contemplate a dark, unused corner lot.

2. He decides to tag the spot on his My City My Spot map and share a photo.

3. He also adds a comment to let others know the spot feels unsafe but has great potential.

4. A city planner can view a “heat map” of positive and negative input, like Bill’s, from around the city.

5. Planners and other city officials meet to discuss improvements and take action.

6. Months later, Bill’s neighbor Alan walks by the same spot and notices a new, well lit playground and greenspace.

7. He sees that the spot is on his neighbor Bill’s My City My Spot map and decides to add info about the changes.

8. He shares a photo and adds a reply onto Bill’s original comment, applauding the much improved spot.

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My City My Spot Prototype An interactive platform features the following: • Consolidate different sources of information to create a digital cultural map of cultural resources based on quantitative analysis of cultural inventory. • Options for networking and exchanging cultural contents through connection with social media tools.

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My City My Spot Features & Functionality Photos Application 1. Users can upload photo of their favorite places, spots, and cultural events.

2. Photo tagging, helped by face recognition technology and comments on photos, users can tag photos with a brand, product and events.

Sharing videos 1. Users can share their videos by uploading video, adding video thorough mobile and using webcam recording feature.

Sample screenview of similar mobile platform.

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My City My Spot Features & Functionality Security and Sharing Features 1. Login approvals 2. Access to community events schedule and other cultural contents that provide useful information, e.g., tourist brochures 3. Sharing community events and activities with other users

Other Features and Interactions 1. Users can chat and exchange comments 2. Users can use phone to vote for favorite cultural landscape, assets and events 3. Promotions and updates news based on user profiles

Sample web platform view.

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My City My Spot

My City My Spot

Benefits of Design

Shortcomings of Design

1. Identifies clusters, hubs, opportunities

1. Not every resident or visitor has direct access to the Internet.

2. Leads to new ways of thinking and working 3. Crystallizes community identity 4. Makes the invisible visible 5. Is a great visual tool 6. Identifies connections to city planning 7. Creates baseline for benchmarking 8. Supports Municipal Cultural Planning

2. May be too complicated for novice users.

3. Difficulty of convincing people to take some time to share their cultural experiences.

4. Difficult to consolidate all users’ cultural maps and information in one meaingful map.

Expansion: What Else is Possible?

Other form factor possibilities: • O pportunities to incorporate augmented reality technology • Opportunities to provide a live stream video channel • O pportunities to customize the application platform according to users’ interests and cultural tastes

Tear Here >

Your vision here.

My City My Spot

Augmented reality? Live Streaming? What do you see?

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Notes ............................................................................................ ............................................................................................

TO:

Use this space to share your ideas for future applications of the participatiory cultural mapping method.

What do you see?

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My City My Spot Next Steps in Design Process 1. Get a programmers to consider feasibility of technology 2. Find out if companies would subsidize service for marketing and branding opportunities 3. Build more technical prototype and physical design to test on different users 4. Investigate methods to consolidate all different layers of information extracted from each user.

Additionally, a project work plan should address project objectives and scope. The following initial questions are also important to consider: 1. Who should lead?

2. Where will the database be housed?

3. Who are some likely partners?

4. What data already exists within the community?

5. What will this cost?

6. What funding sources exist that can help make the case for and support Cultural Resource Mapping?

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My City My Spot Assessing Costs To begin the budgeting process, you will want to assess the level of effort and costs associated with:

• Ongoing costs, including:

1. Updating/maintaining data

• T echnical resources (GIS software, GIS and IT staff or consultants)

2. Making use of the database: Performing analysis and making maps to

• P rimary data collection that may be required (should be minimal)

3. Illustrate findings

4. Meeting with project partners to track progress and reassess goals

• Checking, inputting and consolidating data • Regular meetings with your project partners • T he cost of community engagement workshops to inform your project and build support • Contributors:

1. An experienced consultant to lead the project

2. Time allocated for municipal staff

Value Proposition An effort to make cultural resource information broadly available allows for an educational experience, in which visitors, local residents and organizations can discover the range of resources in the community. It can also function as an effective search tool for people to find specific information about cultural resources they know.

The database can also serve an archival function, where information about cultural resources is captured for future generations.

Tear Here >

what do you think?

My City My Spot

Plesae share your first impression of the design concept.

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Notes ............................................................................................ ............................................................................................ ............................................................................................

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How effectively did the presentation communicate the design concept?

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How insightful is the proposed solution?

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How well does the design concept match your expectations?

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How well does the design concept fit into the realm of participatory cultural planning and mapping?

Please use this form to evaluate the captology design concept and share any additional comments.

We welcome your feedback

TO:

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appendix a Glossary of Terms

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Appendix A Glossary of Terms Baseline Cultural Mapping Baseline Cultural Mapping is a process of identifying cultural assets, developing an initial database and maps that illustrate the scope and location of cultural assets. The focus is on laying the foundation for continued mapping efforts by capturing the “breadth” of cultural resources across the community, which in itself can be an extensive endeavor. As a result, the “depth” of information captured in a baseline database - or the level of detail included in each category - may not be as extensive as it could be.

Captology Design The field of captology and persuasive technology is growing quickly. Captology is a method with related tools for solving problems. As BJ Fogg, Ph.D. Director, Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University, puts it, captology is a way of thinking clearly about target behaviors and how to achieve those goals by using technology for the purpose of changing people’s attitudes or behaviors. BJ Fogg derived

the term captology in 1996 from an acronym: Computers As Persuasive Technologies = CAPT.

Cultural Resources Cultural resources encompass both tangible and intangible cultural assets that fuel local cultural vitality and contribute to defining the unique local cultural identity and sense of place. Intangible cultural assets are types of cultural expression that are not necessarily manifest in physical form.

Data architecture Data architecture is the format chosen to organize a dataset. It involves choosing the names and order of data fields (categories of information), and the hierarchy within which they will be organized in a GIS database.

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Captology Design Behavior Change

Websites

captology

Motivation Persuasion attitude change

digital technology

change in world view Source: BJ Fogg, Ph.D. Director, Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University

Desktop software Virtual reality Mobile Phones

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Appendix A Glossary of Terms Dataset A dataset is a collection of data, organized into a table where each column represents a category of information.

A Cultural Resource Database is composed of several datasets, since it is assembled from various sources of existing data.

Geo-coding Geo-coding is the process of linking resource data to locations in space for the purpose of geographic mapping.

Resource data can be linked to GPS coordinates, street addresses or postal codes.

appendix B

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Cultural Resources Framework Categories and Disciplines

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Appendix Appendix B B.

Cultural Resource Framework Cultural Resources Framework Categories and Disciplines Categories and Disciplines

While this broad understanding of culture is important, the focus of cultural mapping is focused more concretely on a specific set of cultural resources illustrated in the diagram.

The followings are the set of categories and disciplines Whileof this broad understanding of culture is categories Cultural Resource Framework outlined in important, theCanadian focus of culturalformapping the Statistics Canada Framework Culture is focused more concretely on a specific set of Statistics.

cultural resources illustrated in the diagram.

The followings are the set of categories and disciplines categories of Cultural Resource Framework outlined in the Statistics Canada Canadian Framework for Culture Statistics

Creative Cultural Industries Community Cultural Organizations

Related Resources

CRF Festivals and Events

Spaces and Facilities

Natural Heritage

Cultural Heritage

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Cultural Resources

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

CREATIVE CULTURAL INDUSTRIES

NATURAL HERITAGE

CULTURAL HERITAGE

SPACES & FACILITIES

NON-PROFIT CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

Community Assets

PEOPLE & NEIGHBORHOODS

ECONOMY

GOVERNMENT

INSTITUTIONAL

PHYSICAL

HUMAN SERVICES

TRANSPORTATION

RELIGION

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Works Cited Fogg, BJ. 2010: Thoughts on Persuasive Technology.

Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University. http://captology.stanford.edu/resources/thoughts-onpersuasive- technology.html.

Retrieved: May 19, 2011.

Laurel, Brenda (Editor). 2003: Design Research: Methods and Perspectives, MIT. Creativity Network of Canada. 2008: Creative City Planning Framework. Toronto: PCA Associates.

Crawhall, Nigel. 2008: The Role Of Participatory Cultural Mapping In Promoting Intercultural Dialogue. UNESCO. Creativity Network of Canada. 2008: Cultural Mapping Toolkit. Toronto: PCA Associates.

Mercer, Colin. Engwicht, David. and Grogan, David. 1995: Cultural Planning Handbook. Queensland Australia: Allen and Unwin.

Municipal Cultural Planning Incorporated. 2010: Cultural Resource Mapping: A Guide for Municipalities. http://www.ontariomcp.ca/news/cultural-resourcemapping%3A- guide-municipalities-7.

Retrieved: May 20, 2011.

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about the designer After earning a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University in 2000, I moved to SOBE, FL just for the sunshine. After a year of postgraduate collaborative internship program in Miami I moved to work in one of the fastest growing cities in the world, the city of Dubai. I have worked in areas of career development strategy and leadership development program design and management. I pried myself away from the routine lifestyle to pursue further graduate education in design and planning. Driven by a passion for change and the thrill of discovery, I studied how a cultural planning approach can be a tool capable of linking culture, place, and economic development in an integrated and strategic way.

I am a passionate design researcher who believes in the democratization of culture and the importance of public and community involvement in decision making.

contact Saad Alzrooni MFA Design Management, SCAD US MSSA Social Administration, CWRU BA Community & Social Development, CSS E | saqeel20@gmail.com http://culturalmapping.wordpress.com