Project Process Journal Community Revitalization through ICT M. Des Design Innovation
Shweta A. Manikshetti
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Content Understanding ICT…………………………………………………….4 Identifying a Community…………………………………………..6 High rise structures in Glasgow………………………………...8 Engagement……………………………………………………………12 Engagement tools…………………………………………………..14 Mapping our findings……………………………………………..16 Themes…………………………………………………………………..18 Opportunities………………………………………………………….22 Concept development…………………………………………….24 Final Concept………………………………………………………….26 Reflection……………………………………………………………….28 What I learnt…………………………………………………………..29 Acknowledgement………………………………………………….30
Introduction The Community Revitalization (2020) and ICT project is the first project of the Design Innovation course. It seeks to improve the experiences in daily lives of four major social groups. Amongst these four, our group was asked to select a community which would benefit from regeneration. The main challenge being, to formulate future problems in the selected community, that could be addressed with the use of Information Communication Technology. Thus, we were supposed to study ..users and stakeholders, ..the context– geographical, location, infrastructural ..Current and emerging trends in behavior—economical, social, climatological, and so on ..Introducing ICT into the future scenario The mode of research we were introduced to for this project is Ethnographic research. It is a qualitative research design aimed at exploring cultural phenomena. Through this approach we could get valuable insights into the unconscious habits and behaviors in users lives. The result would be artefacts or services that connect to these users in a more meaningful and desirable manner.
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ICT
Understanding ICT We explored ICT through its relation to social context. Our main objective was to study how and which emerging trends in ICT affect ’Humans’ in psychological, physical and social manner. What is ICT : Information Communication Technology includes IT, unified communications, telecommunications, computers, software, middleware, storage, audiovisual systems and so on. Use : To access, Store, transmit and manipulate information. Current trends : The use of ICT in todays context. It is mainly through various touch points like mobile phones, computers, wearable technology, games console etc. Emerging Technologies : The contemporary advances and innovation in various fields of technology, such as augmented reality, wearable technology, health care, quantified self, and privacy and security measures. Although there is rapid advancement in the development and use of these evolving technologies, experts are also worried that the amount of information they transmit is scary. A PhD. Student in Philosophy also suggests another line of thinking, "We should not focus our attention only on what we can do with the such technology, but even on what we become by using it." 4
Effect on individual: With the growing technology is it important to consider its social impacts. We explored how these technologies affect human beings, and found out five main categories. Privacy, physical interaction, social life, psychological well being and safety. Through further desk research, we also found the level of awareness going about the social impact of ICT. An article also states, The ongoing computing and communications revolution has numerous economic and social impacts on modern society and requires serious social science investigation in order to manage its risks and dangers. This helped me relate to the main context and framework of the project.
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Identifying a Community / Location . On the first mention of finding communities to regenerate, I felt, could we target a larger crowd as a community? Could we study and develop strategies that could benefit more people and still be suitable for the context? People Place Activity Initially, we explored several ideas at large. One such idea that I had was as follows. Basic Idea : Providing scope for creativity. Target group : People using public spaces. Aim : To Give people a scope to contribute their time and effort for the development of a public place. What we would achieve: a sense of ownership and responsibility in the citizens towards their surroundings. Context : Parks, Streets, Tunnels, other spaces used for leisure. Our group came up with several other contextual ideas, which were quintessentially Glasgow. We then got on to studying the context of Glasgow. This involved, history of the city, the economic and political change and its effects, also the phenomenon, called the Glasgow Effect. Glasgow effect is term used for the Low Life expectancy rate in Glasgow, as compared with the rest of U.K. 6
History of the city. (Understanding the context) Glasgow was probably founded in the 6th century when St Mungo built a church at place called Glas Gu which means green place. It was initially a fishing settlement which grew into a small town. In the 19th century Glasgow continued to grow very rapidly. By 1871 it had reached a population of half a million. This was despite a very high infant mortality rate. (Up to half of all children born died before their 5th birthday). Poor people in Glasgow lived in dreadfully overcrowded conditions. Most of them lived in one or two rooms in tenements. , Glasgow ranked as one of the richest and finest cities in Europe. On the other hand, however, the city suffered from appalling social problems of poverty, crime and disease. The massively unequal distribution of wealth meant that the splendid mansions in the West End were a marked contrast to the wynds and closes of the High Street, Saltmarket and Gallowgate areas in the East End. The story of 20th century Glasgow after the First World War, is in bleak contrast to the previous century, marred by industrial decline of enormous proportions. In the last part of the 20th century Glasgow turned to art and its heritage to attract visitors and provide jobs. Since the 1980s, Glasgow has been rebuilding both its image and its architecture.
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Identifying a Community / Location . Redevelopment of residential areas, combined with the increased cultural activities, has contributed to a better environment. Public housing, previously administered by the Glasgow City Council, was transferred to the not-for-profit Glasgow Housing Association in 2003. This affected some 80,000 properties and created Britain's largest social landlord in an innovative tenant-led organization. The new GHA has already begun the process of demolishing many of the infamous concrete housing estates and high-rise tower blocks which were built during the 1960s, in preparation for a new generation of public housing. The growth and increasing importance of the city in the 19th century had important social as well as economic and political consequences for the development and administration of the infrastructure and experience of the urban environment. The physical and mental, medical as well as moral consequences of city development led to campaigns to improve the condition of the urban population that provoked a response by the local state. One prominent aspect of this municipal commitment was the development of urban public parks as an ameliorative response. Glasgow's experience of rapid industrialization and urbanization in the 19th century and the particular conditions that arose led to a specific form of municipal government that produced a network of public parks that was unrivalled by any other city.
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High Rise Structures
Parks
Argyle Street
The Final Three Locations As a response to the Glasgow effect and the group work on desk research about Glasgow, we found 3 main locations to study. We visited each of them, to understand their scope and limitations. High Rise Structures, as mentioned earlier have an impression of housing mainly low income groups in UK. Many of them are being demolished due to poor planning, bad design and cheap construction. They have developed a stigma associated with insanitary places sprawling with crime and deprivation.
Parks, are an important part of Glasgow. The city in fact is renowned as ‘Dear Green Place’, thanks to the 70 parks it houses. There is also another fear related to safety in parks. Many parks are unused because of this perception about them. The queens park in Glasgow was in a news paper, called the ‘Death Park’, due to the number of crimes that occurred in it. Argyle Street, is one of the oldest streets in Glasgow. This place has a special character due to the varied user group and businesses that run here.
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The Tower Blocks in Glasgow The community we selected to work with for the rest of the project is from the High Rise structures in Glasgow. This project seeks to understand how the experience of living in such environment be enhanced. Initially we narrowed our search on three sites that feature in the Glasgow 30 year plan, which means there are no plans to demolish them any sooner. These were Woodside, Yoker, and Townhead. Our main study would involve surroundings, architecture, relation of built environment with people, the relation of tenants with their neighbors, and how an individual feels to stay in these blocks. We chose the three tower blocks in Woodside which are a part of the Garscube complex. We found this interesting to study because it had a lot of diversity. It has one of the most ethnically diverse user group, with a large number of Chinese and Pakistani population. Our group members had also managed to have a conversation with the Queens Cross housing association, which manages these buildings. 10
Cedar Street Tower Blocks Location : These tower blocks are located nearly half a mile north of the city center. Surroundings : They are the only high rise structures in the predominantly residential low lying area. Owner : They are owned and controlled by a large housing development organization in Glasgow, called the Queens Cross Housing Association (QCHA). Use : These tower blocks are occupied by social housing. The Site: Three identical 22 storey buildings, surrounded by a number of old concrete playgrounds, a community garden, a football pitch, and some wasteland. Society : From our interview with the housing association, we learnt that there is a considerable user group of Chinese ethnic origin, A large number of young children and families and a large proportion of people who claim state benefits. Points of interest : To study how architecture shapes peoples lives, how the tenants behave around these structures, is there any social interaction, what are the driving factors for social interaction and how does an individual view himself in these surroundings. 11
Engagement : First Visit We decided to do a casual visit to these buildings to get a feel of the air around the building. We also registered the general activity on site on a regular day and the physical surroundings. We also examined the kind of public that traversed throughout the public space in the housing site. What we found on our first visit was conformed in the following visits. People did not spend a lot of time in the recreational areas of the site. The main function that was noticed was dog walking and passing by. This gave us an idea of the kind of engagement we need to design to get enough insight through this kind of interaction in a short while. Although the site was clean and managed, the environment was dull, mainly because of the whether, but there was also a lack of personal touch to the space. I felt it was overly controlled. Such conditions intimidate people and bring out lack of ownership in them.
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Research Questions Through research and discussion, we narrowed down on 4 research questions.
Four Questions: #1 What is the experience of living here on a day to day basis? #2 What is the nature of the relationships between residents? #3 How do residents view the environment they live in? #4 How do residents view themselves in relation to the city as a whole? In order to do naturalistic observation, we considered these main parts of study 1. Specific Settings—Physical space 2. Events that usually take place—use and function of spaces 3. Demographic factors.
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Engagement Tools The approach for research was to help people participate in the activity, capture their experiences through intermediate probing, instead of directly asking close ended questions. Our aim was to understand these people, collaboratively and reflectively. We formulated several engagement tools. Some of the successful ones are, 1. Question cards. These were small cards with one daily life question on each. The participant was asked to chose two from a number of cards and answer the questions on these. This method proved to be playful and quick, thus more interesting. The questions on these cards asked indirect questions to naturally facilitate conversation and let us gain an insight on several other factors of participants life. For instance, ‘How would you get a sofa to the top floor?’ The obvious answer would be, ‘lift’. But it leads to further questions such as, are the lifts reliable? Would your neighbors help you to take it? Is it easy to settle in this rented home? Do you feel home here? This tool investigated, many issues such as use of public spaces in the complex, relationship with neighbors, and so on. Due to its short engagement and playfulness, this tool was very effective. 14
Engagement Tools 2. Booklet. This engagement tool had a set of 5 tasks. They mainly focused on how citizens relate to their surroundings. One of the tasks asked people to name 5 rules for the neighbors to follow. This would give us an insight of the residents likes and dislikes. As, it was more time consuming and tedious, this tool was well received by very few. In this location, we found that people were always on the move. They seldom stopped to talk. The most entertaining were the dog walkers. They were patient and engaged with us easily. Through these tools, we could engage with people in a more informal manner, so they could open up. We did not want them to think that we were any other surveyor. I personally found this idea of bringing out unconscious habits and behaviors of people through engagement tools to be useful. Even in the context of architecture, what a client would want in his house is influenced by several factors, such as current trend, his personal choice, finance, etc. and his demands are ruled by these factors. But a successful house is that which provides for all needs of the occupant, and not just wants. 15
Mapping our Findings Based on our research, we prepared a physical map, to correlate our findings. This map also led us to bring together everybody’s findings in the group. The combining of each of the tool results and identifying patterns within them led to deeper insights. Through the map, We have separated four areas of interests. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Community Life Social Projects Ethnicity and Ethnic tension Property Suitability.
These themes led to a thorough inspection and discussion about the hypothesis related to these, the evidence to support this hypothesis, the reasons why this hypothesis is valid and the opportunities that could be explored for design .
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Grouping
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Opportunities
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Opportunities to focus on A good community is designed to share the highest qualities of all families or individuals. The concepts of innovation being not only ideal, but also practical but also contributing to the unique individual interests/ values. To accomplish this, we see the importance of focusing primarily on three foundations. 1. Address immediate area around the blocks : the areas around the towers and flats are not welcoming, in fact they repel social congregation. The corridors lack personal touch and are dull. 2. Addressing ethnic problems : Through our hypothesis that children have the potential to bridge ethnically diverse society, we would explore possible interventions by children. 3. Looking at the positive effects of Community projects and elaboration of positive outcomes of community projects. : There are community projects going on in the society. But their positive outcome is usually unknown to people. It is thought to be only for at risk people. The scale of these projects could be increased by elaborating their positive outcomes. With these opportunities in focus, we started with concept generation.
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Concept Development In this stage we established certain criteria for the development of concepts. Concept criteria : Must be agreeable to all stakeholders including QCHA, residents, and Glasgow City Council Must be able to withstand the rigors of the environment Using technology the outcome must facilitate real-time interaction between two or more people Should develop a sense of community. Should be self sustaining, it should not require a figurehead to maintain a sense of community. These concepts were mainly around three fields Community Environment Ethnicity
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Final Concept The one concept we finalized out of many was a robot with human like characters which would be a catalyst for communication. This design went into many phase. One was, a disaster robot, where just like in any disaster situation, people come together, this robot would create similar situations for people. Another was a Shy robot, who would shy off, be clumsy and demanding. To consider our initial criteria of ability of withstanding rigors, the final design is a tough simple shaped robot.
Future Scenario 2020: In 2020 wifi will be classified as a basic human need. Wifi will be provided by the State to low income households. Design Proposal : A robot that would be provided by the government, to provide Wifi.
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Case Study In Japan and other Asian countries, ideas of future robots have been mainly positive, and the start of the pro-robotic society there is thought to be possibly due to the famous 'Astro Boy'. Asian societies such as Japan, and more recently in South Korea and China, believe robots to be more equal to humans, having them care for old people, play with or teach children, or replace pets etc. The general view in Asian cultures is that the more robots advance, the better. "This is the opening of an era in which human beings and robots can co-exist," says Japanese firm Mitsubishi about one of the many humanistic robots in Japan. South Korea aims to put a robot in every house there by 2015–2020. Autistic Children: Parents cherish bedtime stories and games with their little ones, but some children with autism can't always focus during that bedtime ritual. But now researchers find that robots can help by playing a role in helping kids learn how to pay attention and develop other crucial skills. Older public : Some projects are hoping to provide the elderly with everything from a health and nutrition coach that encourages them to eat healthily and exercise through to a device that lets them know they have not spoken to anyone for a while. 26
Case study Robot for Autistic Kids: Keepon is a therapeutic robot which helps therapists work with autistic children. It imitates the rhythm of a child’s movements through therapist’s commands, thus drawing the child’s attention. It is difficult for doctors or parents to get through kids with autism. Robots are now brought in to understand and communicate with these kids. The simple sponge sphere design ‘Keepon’, and the subtle mannerisms make it an effective communication tool that doesn’t intimidate kids with autism. Its eyes are actually cameras, and a mic hides behind its nose. The information picked up by these is collected by the therapist, who in turn sends signals to the robot to respond appropriately. Some scientists have found out that children are generally afraid of mechanical, human looking robots.
Robot for Assisting older people: There is evidence that robots offering companionship are popular with the elderly. The most popular robot used by the older generation in Japan is Paro, a robot that will not help with the dishes, carry heavy items or administer medication.It offers companionship rather than any tangible medical or physical support. "Paro is my friend," says Japanese care home resident Kazuo Nashimura. 27
Alex Our final design proposal, is a state provided community wifi robot. Fr the project we name it ALEX. Functions : Alex has wheels and moves independently around apartments. Can sense where other robots exist within a building. Communicates wifi signal status through behaviors. Use : Every house is given its wifi robot. It has to be connected to the users computer. The robot keeps roaming around in the house on its own. It automatically finds the location of another robot in another house and tries to be near it to maintain good signal. The robots have to be brought together from time to time to boost the speed and signal. This can be done by installing an app and checking which neighbors are free for bringing neighbors together. As all robots are of different shapes, the can form different patterns when brought together. This, and its bright colors makes it interesting and playful.
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We made a prototype, but due to the time constraints, we could go and test them in context. “Alex is a community wifi providing robot that relies upon its communities to strengthen its signal�
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Reflection “We do not learn from experience… We learn from reflecting on experience.” (John Dewey) We as a group found the project successful in parts. I found the project to be alright. The groupwork posed really challenging, because of the various background, both academic and cultural. I had fun working with my group. The intermediate lecture sessions were good as well. The lectures on ethnography , book design, mapping insights, gelled in with what we needed to know at that moment.
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What I learnt I have been an architecture student. I have been exposed to user centric design. We have also went to meet future users for a place we design, and asked for suggestions and formulated question. But, the study and practice of ethnographic research approach has been very enriching. I believe it would be very valuable to use in architectural practice as well. The project has given a lot to learn. The fact that it was a live project and had serious time constraints changes the entire group dynamic. With the deadline, you realize that the product is most important. Even more than who’s ideating and who is presenting. Initially, I felt that to let the group work run smoothly, it is alright if your voice or thoughts are never heard. But, as the project commenced, I realized that this is what I have to learn. To work and deliver in such a way that your thoughts and ideas matter.
The topic, technology, has never been my favorite. I am a strong believer, that overuse and distribution of technology are taking people further off from each other. But this exercise firstly introduced me to the emerging technologies, and also the theories which already exist against them. Thus I can gain deeper understanding. Many new terms such as psychogeography, liminal spaces, ad so on, have only widened my scope of study.
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Acknowledgement I would like to sincerely thank my tutors for their constant guidance and support. I would also like to thank them, for trusting me and giving me the opportunity of presenting the project in Japan. I am honestly humbled by this experience. I also learned a lot.
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Shweta Manikshetti M. Des. Design Innovation and Citizenship. Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow.
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