1.4 OVERVIEW OF THE METHODOLOGY The workshop methodology described in this section was developed for the scale of a neighbourhood and a period of one week. Other scales and projects will require a similar but customised approach. The methodology included sitevisits, workshops, lectures and tutoring as a part of immersive week-long training experience. Participants begin by reflecting from their own personal experiences, followed by studying the just or unjust aspects of their sites. The ultimate result is a value-based manifesto customised specifically to the needs of a neighbourhood, supported by ‘disruptive’ designs.
1. REFLECT Where I come from?
The workshop begins with an invitation to participants to map where they come from. The original avatar of this exercise used in the Just City Lab at Harvard GSD was titled, ‘Map My Journey’. The exercise allowed students to draw a mental map of their commute from home to school which included a diagram of their route with key markers or landmarks. These key markers could be illustrated through buildings, streets, intersections, uses, parks, etc. And they would be further annotated with observations like the conditions of the buildings, colours, the types of users or people they came across, factors of safety and traffic levels amongst others. Students would also be asked to identify ‘just’ city values both present and absent in their journey.
“In South Africa, someone said that they perceived only ‘just’ values in their home; both a warm sense of safety and a reflection that this person is unable to find their values realised in the city.” Toni L. Griffin at We Make the City 2018
Similarly, the participants can be called upon to map such elements and observations from their respective hometowns. While the results would not help the
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students identify values of urban justice in their respective site, it would help them to learn to identify physical markers for justice and injustice. Furthermore, it also helps the participants define shared values that would form a common ground for developing a joint manifesto.
The objective of this exercise is to answer the question ‘How does justice or injustice show up in the place where you live or grew up?’. It teaches the participants empathy and respect for the other members and also helps them reflect on their own cultural biases and value sets. Griffin urges that spatial and social justice can only be achieved when the participants have respect and trust each other. The exercise also begins to create a shared language that can translate across different disciplines.
2. MAP Mapping Justice/Injustice
This exercise stems from the Just City Lab’s data driven approach with both qualitative and quantitative data on demographics, economic, environmental, cultural, civic and social conditions. This research data can also be gained through community expertise. This can be achieved through the presence of local stakeholders as participants in the workshop. However, depending on the scale of the project, there could be a need to visit and review national, state or municipal policy.
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