People-Centered Design Toolkit A toolkit for future facilitators of community co-design
Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................. 04 Process of Engagement.............................................. 06 Design Methods........................................................... 14 Overview........................................................... 16 Half Day Session.............................................. 20 Sub-Sessions.................................................... 32 Acknowledgments........................................................ 46
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Introduction Overview Toolkit Purpose and Use
Design Thinking & People-Centered Design
This toolkit was produced from the outcomes of a collaboration between the second-year graduate students of the Visual Communication Design (VCD) MFA program at the Herron School of Art and Design, and the River West Urban Village design team, consisting of: Green 3, Halstead Architects, and RLR Associates.
Design Thinking is a creative approach to problem solving. People-Centered Design, which supplements a Design Thinking mindset, is about designing with people, not for people, and including them throughout the design process. In this project, the second year VCD MFA students engaged the River West community through facilitating a Design Thinking process, focused on understanding and envisioning both the function and essence of the River West Urban Village. These insights helped to inform design guidelines to reflect the community’s identity and address their functional needs.
The goal of this project was to generate input from the River West community on the design guidelines to inform the development of the Michigan Street and King Avenue intersection. The River West Urban Village is a part of the Great Places 2020 initiative. This toolkit was created based on the methods conducted with the River West community. The toolkit contains transferable knowledge, method suggestions, activities, and facilitator tips to help future facilitators of community innovation adopt a people-centered approach to engaging with the communities they are designing with. For the most appropriate engagement, a Design Facilitator knowledgeable in Design Thinking should utilize this toolkit as a starting point to reference for community co-design. Every community has it’s own essence, function, and way of working. Methods should be adapted and customized to reflect a community’s unique identity and needs.
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Introduction
Partnership We would like to thank the River West design team for inviting us to be a part of this opportunity. It was a pleasure working with the River West community in co-designing the guidelines that will reflect their unique culture and needs. This research was conducted as part of the course, Collaborative Action Research in Design 8, for the MFA Degree in Visual Communication Design. In using different design research methods, we were able to facilitate a collective understanding and ideation of the River West Design Guidelines for future development.
Instructor: Pamela Napier, Assistant Professor
Facilitation Team: April Chen Wendy Hsu Jack Rong
River West Design Firms: Lisa Semidey Ed Sieferd Madison Stevens
Our role in this process was to facilitate a people-centered approach to gathering community input. We designed the process of engagement and the methods for gathering meaningful feedback from the community. Following the project, our facilitation team generated this toolkit to help inform future facilitators of community co-design.
Green 3 Halstead Architects RLR Associates The River West Design firms supported our facilitation process by providing background information about the community, input on the method designs, and assistance with graphic imagery and tool designs. They then utilized the insights generated from the community to inform the River West design guidelines.
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Process of Engagement Tips and methods for engaging different stakeholders throughout a people-centered process
Process of Engagement Approach It is important to consider that while the efforts of the design team can be very well intended, they might be perceived as outsiders coming into the community to make very important decisions. While this may be true, the way design teams and researchers approach the community are key in easing any initial discomforts and make the process smooth and productive. You’re working in their community, not the other way around, so always be respectful of the people and the surroundings you are serving and meet them where they are. The following pages include some key considerations when working with communities in a people-centered process in order to construct future development plans as partners. Many times these things can get overlooked, but when paid attention to they can improve the overall experience. Always keep the community you’re working with in mind during the entire process.
Dress If it is a more upscale neighborhood, consider dressing up for engagements as a way to show respect and professionalism. If you’re working with lower income communities, consider keeping the dress code casual for all of the design team members as well as facilitators. Jeans and t-shirts might not be appropriate for some workplaces, but for the type of workshops you will be conducting with the community, they are very appropriate. You want to make sure that you will not make community members feel uncomfortable or out of place.
Three key concepts to keep in mind: EMPATHY Some people are open to the process and others may not be; make sure you approach them with empathy and “meet them where they are.” RESPECT Demonstrate respect towards the community members; make sure materials are relevant to demonstrate your knowledge and accurate representation of the community you’re partnering with. UNDERSTANDING Do some homework and make sure you understand the past and present of the community in order to successfully build the future together. 8
Time While the desire during engagements like this is to try and get as much done as possible, make sure you’re providing enough time to let the community members really enjoy and engage with the activity. They are working on something that is important to them because they live it every day. Make sure they have enough time to complete the activities and also provide enough time for the community to share their thoughts and reactions. If they are present at the activity, they are invested in the process and want to make sure they can voice their opinions. Also be aware of how much you’re trying to achieve in a single workshop. Make sure that the pace of the workshop is productive but will not exhaust participants. Be sure to include time for breaks, and be cognizant of human needs, like refreshments, restrooms, etc.
Process of Engagement
Language The research engagements should be fun and accessible. Keep language simple and if complex terms need to be brought in because of more technical topics, make sure you allow for ample time to explain the terms and respond to any questions. Also, be aware that the community might be diverse and might need some materials in another language. Consider having materials translated not only for the promotion, but also for the workshops. You might not need to have every single item translated, but it might be worth having separate materials in case they are necessary. Another way to approach this is by finding a team member that speaks the other language in case any participants need to clarify terms or feel more comfortable expressing thoughts in their native language.
Consensus Often the main objective of these facilitation engagements is to understand needs in order to reach consensus on how to move forward. Make sure you’re able to validate the findings that emerge from the community events in order to have a clear path forward. The findings will help inform the activities within the organized engagement, and can drive the sub-sessions topics in order to dive deeper into subjects that are relevant to the community.
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Process of Engagement People In a people-centered process, you will be engaging with a variety of people from different walks of life. It is important to be aware of this and be prepared to engage with them in the most appropriate tone and manner. Below are a few things to consider when planning your people-centered engagements with the communities you are trying to understand and help grow. In a people-centered process, the people are the key element for success. If you’re unable to engage with them in a genuine way, you can conduct many methods but you will never really get to the essence of what makes that community what it is; and you will not be able to build the trust and ownership that is necessary to move forward.
Participants It is important to try and get as many local community members involved in the process as early as possible, because they can be your most important supporters and advocates. If you are able to connect with local groups such as community organizations, steering committees, and local community centers, leverage those connections as a means of getting the word out about the different activities you may be planning, and also to develop an understanding of the community you’ll be collaborating with. These groups can also point you in the right direction if you need to establish communication with someone external to your core community members. Sometimes the easiest way to recruit participants is getting out into the community and dropping off flyers at peoples homes and the places where they congregate. Consider posting announcements in local shops, churches and places where community members visit frequently. Some of the most successful recruitment efforts are made when the design team is immersed and deeply connected with the community they’re trying to partner with. Additionally, be aware that participants want to know what’s happening next. Establish an open channel of communication with community members to keep them updated with next steps and outcomes.
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Process of Engagement
The Design Team
External Facilitation Support
It is essential to begin this process by forming a partnership between the community, the design firms and any external facilitators brought in to lead any community engagements. At this point in the research process, it is possible to be working with up 1215 people just as part of the organizing team. Below are some tips to keep an open collaboration and clear working process throughout the project:
Bringing in an external facilitator to lead any community engagements can offer much needed support. While team members can be experts in a subject area and could potentially pull methods from different resources, it is important to understand that a facilitators expertise will be key in getting to the desired outcomes. This is why it is essential to create a partnership so that the design team and the facilitation team can support each other in this collaborative process while relying on their content expertise.
1. Establish clear roles early on and if possible, assign a point person per team to manage communication. This is important not only for the planning and development work prior to any facilitation engagement, but also for roles during the day of the event. This way every member will know their roles and responsibilities during the event.
If your team is looking to find external facilitation support, consider contacting local firms and possibly local educational institutions that use a people-centered approach to guide their facilitation process. Local examples of this in Indianapolis are Collabo Creative and the Herron School of Art and Design.
2. Schedule check-in meetings prior to any facilitation engagements to ensure everyone is on the same page. These can be either in-person, or remote. 3. Set some time aside to do a dry-run through of the engagement agenda together in order to confirm things like language, timing and who is facilitating at what time. It will ensure a smooth event. 4. While the design team has the expertise in the technical subject area, the facilitator has the expertise on how methods should be conducted. If the design team is preparing materials to be used during facilitated engagements, make sure to set up enough time for review and discussion before final materials are printed. 11
Process of Engagement Places If you are working with a community, make sure that you are meeting them where they are. If at all possible, avoid setting up meetings and workshops outside of the community itself. This will make it easy for the community members to get to the events and starts building some positive energy around the efforts. It will also provide an opportunity to connect with local players in the neighborhood.
Accessibility
The spaces booked should provide enough space to conduct different types of activities comfortably. It is ideal for the design team and the facilitators to visit the reserved location before the workshop to get a visual understanding of the space and layout and to also go over any logistics details such as:
Reserve places that can provide free and ample parking to the workshop participants. Also make sure to indicate parking details in event promotional materials so that participants are comfortable.
• Audiovisual equipment needs and availability • Table and chair arrangements • Rules and regulations regarding food • Time of access and cut off time for leaving the space
Make sure the event spaces are easy to get to and provide proper accessibility features such as ramps that allow for ease of access to everyone.
Parking
Ideal Considerations Meeting rooms come in all shapes and sizes. If possible, try to make sure the one you’re reserving provides the ideal conditions for the activities you’re trying to conduct. General conditions that facilitate co-design sessions are: 1. White Boards 2. Wall space for pinning up
If it is possible, determine who is an ideal contact person for the location and make sure to validate any details before the day of the event. Ideally, you should arrange to have earlier access to the space to set up before the event. If unavailable, make sure to have a plan for how to get the work done before the start of the event. Also, take some time to walk or drive through the community so that you have first-hand experience of what it looks like, and you know where key businesses and landmarks are as a way of showing respect. The ability to be knowledgeable about the community from a first-hand perspective will also speak to the design team’s credibility.
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3. Tables that can be moved around or rearranged 4. Private space to keep distractions outside of the workshop space
Process of Engagement
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Design Methods These methods can be utilized as a reference for Design Thinking facilitators to use in community co-design sessions
Design Methods Overview Facilitation Overview
Process Skills and Ground Rules
In the following section the design methods for facilitation have been outlined with details related to their objective, people involved, activities, tools, supplies, and facilitator tips for that particular method. Methods were originally crafted for a large half day community session and subsequent sub-sessions.
For any facilitation process it is helpful to describe process skills and ground rules to help participants collaborate together, and to understand the flow of the activities for the session.
Process Skills
Half Day Session The objectives of the half day session with the River West community included: 1. Understand their past and present essence and identity 2. Understand their past and present community function and needs 3. Envision their future essence and identity 4. Envision their future community function and needs
Sub-Sessions The sub-session topics and objectives were customized based on the community feedback from the initial half day session. Three subsessions were held with the River West community, each with their own topic: 1. Identity, Land Use, and Green Space 2. Site Design, Parking, and Size and Density 3. Architectural Character These methods can be utilized as a reference for Design Thinking facilitators to use in community co-design sessions. While the specific activities and prompts will need to be adapted to the community and type of engagement, facilitators can use this document as a starting point. 16
DIVERGE 1
Design Thinking follows a specific reasoning process through divergent and convergent thinking. Divergent thinking allows for as many possibilities imaginable while deferring judgment; whereas, convergent thinking uses a more evaluative approach. Each mindset is valuable throughout the entire problem solving process for generating ideas and then selecting the most appropriate solutions. Facilitators should describe these CONVERGE process skills to participants so that they 2 can frame their mindset to match the goal of the activity.
DEFERRAL OF JUDGMENT
Ground Rules Similar to the process skills, having ground rules explained in the beginning of the session can help the participants to collaborate and work together effectively. Below are a list of ground rules that can be used to help facilitate the session: • Obey the clock (timed activities) • No killer phrases – OUCH! • No self-editing • No tribal language – HUH? • One idea at a time • Wild ideas welcome
Design Methods
Facilitator Guidelines
Visual Guidelines
While each method has facilitator tips that are specific to that method, there are some facilitator tips that you should keep in mind during any type of session. Below are some key tips for facilitators:
Visual tools and aids can help to create shared understanding quickly, communicate complex ideas in a simple way, or even be used by participants as a starting point for generating ideas. When you are creating visual tools, generally there are some key things to keep in mind:
• Always remember to be people-centered. Your role is to be neutral and to help others share their stories and their thoughts. • Try to learn about the community and participants as much as possible before your session. Authenticity and relevancy are key. You want to customize your approach, language, and appearance to make the participants feel as comfortable as possible. • Be aware of the room and how people are contributing. Be a force for inclusion and seek out input from all of your participants. • Write exactly what participants say as much as possible. Use their words, their phrases and if you abbreviate ask for permission. • Be sure to write in ALL CAPS whenever possible for clarity.
• Have a purpose for your visuals and keep it simple. Less is more. • Make sure your visuals and content can be understood by your participants. Consider language barriers or cultural barriers that might inhibit a person from understanding your tool. • If you use maps or tools that reference something specific to the community, triple check that they are accurate. If you give participants inaccurate information or visuals related to their community they will notice, and they may be offended by the error. • Of course, try to follow visual communication design best practices.
• It can be nice to play music to help creativity and create a nice flow of energy during the methods. We recommend upbeat music without lyrics. • Be aware of your time and try to build in “buffer” time in case an activity takes longer than planned, or something unexpected happens. Generally speaking, the more participants you have the more time you need for any method. • Having timed activities can help your participants stay on track and to move forward in accomplishing the goals of the session. Be sure to always bring a tool that can help you keep time and can act as an alarm as well. • Remember to take pictures both of your process and of the data that the participants generate.
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Design Methods
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Design Methods: Half Day Session Method: Photo Timeline Objective:
Activities:
Photo Timeline is a method that explores the community’s essence, looking to the past and present. This activity will illuminate both positive qualities and areas of improvement for the community. It will help the facilitator and participants have a shared understanding of the past and present community identity.
The Photo Timeline poster needs to be fully prepared and printed with existing information. Conduct research to find historical stories, important people in the history, and significant events to incorporate into the design of the timeline poster. The facilitator should encourage participants to bring their own old photos and stories to share during the workshop. Before the workshop, set up the poster and prepare the photo sharing area.
People:
Time:
5 round table groups, about 5 participants per group
25 - 35 minutes
Tools:
Supplies:
• Historical Timeline Poster
• Big Post-its/ white paper • Post-its • Clothing pins and string • Tape
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
Large wall space for the poster, seating area and tables
• Control the time with alarms and timers • Have a plan for rotating participants through the poster • In designing the visual of the timeline, allocate more space for participants to contribute to more recent history
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1. At the beginning of the activity, the facilitator introduces the purpose of the activity and the activity process. 2. Invite participants to read through the historical poster. The facilitator should help explain stories on poster. You can call groups up one at a time, so that each person has a chance to engage with the timeline up close. 3. Participants who bring photos and stories can add them to the timeline. If participants have any comments or thoughts for the stories they can write them on the post-its and attach them to the timeline. 4. After looking to the past on the timeline, the facilitator should conduct a diverge on who they are now. Every participant should talk aloud to describe their community now as the facilitator scribes their comments. This part of the activity should be fast, around 5 minutes, and the facilitator should encourage the participants to share as much as possible in that time. As a facilitator you want to be mindful of time. Build in enough time for the participants to view and absorb the history and stories of what is already on the timeline, and also time to contribute to that story.
Design Methods
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Design Methods: Half Day Session Method: Community Persona Objective:
Activities:
Community persona is a design method to form a shared understanding of a group or community. This method can be used to ideate and imagine shared aspects of a person’s character for a group or a community.
Before beginning this activity, the facilitator should provide a large group worksheet that is divided into three key parts: the function of the community, the look of the community, and the feel of the community.
Time:
5 round table groups, about 5 participants per group
5 minutes for each step
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People:
1. Facilitator explains the instructions: “Imagine your future neighborhood. What could you do in my neighborhood? Think of activities, services and facilities. Write it down on post-its or directly on the big work sheet.” Then, the facilitator should provide worksheets for each groups and give further instructions. 2. Once the first step is done, the facilitator explains the second step: “Now think of the look and appearance.” You want to provide several pictures and have the participants choose the ones they like and stick them on the worksheet. Prompt the participants to write down reasons why they chose the picture as well.
Tools:
Supplies:
• Large work sheet
• Markers
• Image inventory for collaging
• Post-its
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
Private big space with seating area and round tables
• Engage with participants if they feel stuck
3. Finally, the facilitator explains the third part: “This time please think about feelings. How do you want feel when you walking in you future community?” Prompt the participants to write it down on post-its or directly on the big work sheet.
• Document the conversation
4. Collect each group’s results
Design Methods
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Design Methods: Half Day Session Method: Territory Map Objective:
Activities:
This method is a divergent approach to collect people’s experience within the community. The resulting data is experience-based and visually represents the territory of the community and how people utilize key areas.
Prior to beginning the activity, the facilitator will want to pass out the map worksheets. This activity allows people to work on individual worksheets, but it can be adjusted to be a group activity or could incorporate group discussion.
People:
Time:
Any size group
10 minutes
Tools:
Supplies:
• Map with extra writing space
• Pens or markers
Facilitator Tips:
Private big space with seating area and round tables
• Provide sufficient prompts to help participants think about their geographic interaction within the neighborhood at different times and for different purposes
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Type of Space:
1. Facilitator explains the instructions: Circle the places or geographic locations on the map you visit or interact with in your neighborhood. In the extra space, participants should write down what they do at each place. The facilitator can prompt the participants on what to consider. For example: “What’s your daily route in your neighborhood? Where do you walk your dog? Where do you meet friends? Where do you take bus?, etc.” 2. Each participant is given a pen or a marker and a map 3. Facilitator will provide more prompts in the background while participants work on their map. For example: “Think about your daily routine during the week day? Where would you do? What about your weekend? What about holiday? What about your favorite place or the least favorite place?” 4. Collect each participant ‘s territory map and consolidate the input after the session.
Design Methods
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Design Methods: Half Day Session Method: Listing-Based Survey Objective:
Activities:
This is an activity where a big amount of information can be extracted from individual participants. This survey can be used to collect information to be later synthesized to reflect the overall group opinion.
When collecting feedback, comments, reflection or expectations to form a group opinion, filling out individual surveys is one of the quickest approaches. Group activities often require discussion that can take time and energy from the participants. Surveys focus on revealing individual facts, and doesn’t require as much group consensus. In previous practice, participants were asked to list down the fact they like or dislike about their neighborhood.
People:
Time:
Any size group
10 minutes
1. Each participant is given a survey with questions listed 2. Participants have ten minutes to list down their responses
Tools:
Supplies:
• Survey sheet
• Pens
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
Private big space with seating area and round tables
• Provide sufficient time for participant to answer the survey • Don’t design too many questions in one survey, it might wear down the participant’s attention
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3. Collect the survey back and consolidate the results afterward
Design Methods
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Design Methods: Half Day Session Method: Origami Town Objective:
Activities:
Paper prototyping is used to help participants identify and envision businesses, art installations, and gateways that would be ideal within the community. The use of visual materials allows for a shared understanding between participants and researchers. This is important as communication of ideas through oral communication alone can lead to different understandings.
For this method a map of the area and paper cards with space to write comments are needed. The map should define the project area and neighborhood. Accuracy of scale does not need to be considered, but the map should be large enough for several people to work on it comfortably. The cards represent various types of establishments, but participants should be instructed to mark them with new labels or comments as they see fit.
People:
Time:
5 groups, about 5 participants per group
30 minutes
Tools:
Supplies:
• POP up cards
• Post-its
• Geographic Information System (GIS) Map
• Markers
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
This activity is more comfortable on large tables with chairs around it so that participants can sit and write comfortably.
• Facilitators at each table can help record conversations participants have but forget to record • Include extra blank pop-up cards in the toolkits in case a particular type of business is missing from the deck.
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1. Participants are asked to place the cards where they could see those establishments in their community. 2. Participants are then prompted to write their thoughts on the map or on post-its as they placed the cards on the map. 3. After the participants finish placing the cards on the map, the facilitator should ask the participants to share their creations and explain their thought process. It is important to record these presentations with audio devices to capture the details and explanation of the prototypes.
Design Methods
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Design Methods
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Design Methods: Sub-Session 1 Method: Placemaking Strategies Objective:
Activities:
This method can help the participants to create a placemaking strategy for their community. During this sub-session the focus was on creating a placemaking strategy for public green spaces in the community, but the method could be adapted for any component of the community. This method works well as a primer activity to ensure everyone understands the goals and strategy before ideating.
The main objective of the session should be outlined first: How might we develop a placemaking strategy for public green spaces?
People:
Time:
Two groups, about 4 participants per group
20 minutes
Tools:
Supplies:
• Poster of placemaking definition
• Markers • Voting star stickers • Chart Paper
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
Seating area with large wall space or white board
• Encourage participants to go for quantity in each category of the placemaking strategy, there are no wrong answers. • Repeat what participants say as you write to ensure you are recording it correctly.
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1. The facilitator should explain the definition of placemaking. Placemaking capitalizes on a local community’s assets, inspiration and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that promote people’s health, happiness, and well being. By breaking up the definition into those three concepts, participants can more easily build a strategy to inform the rest of the sub-session. 2. The facilitator should then prompt the participants to diverge on each of the three components of the placemaking definition: Local community assets, inspiration and potential, and finally a diverge on what would promote health, happiness, and well-being in the community. Each section should be limited to 3 minutes, and participants should talk aloud as the facilitator scribes their responses. 3. After diverging on the three sections, the participants should then converge and vote for the top two ideas from each section using stickers. This will provide a rough idea of the strategy to inform future envisioning.
Design Methods
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Design Methods: Sub-Session 1 Method: Design Ideal Public Green Spaces Map Objective:
Activities:
Design Ideal Public Green Spaces Map is a common design method. It can help the researchers and designers find the users’ needs. Since the participants are not professional designers, this method can help the participants more clearly express their needs in a visual way.
Before the session the facilitator should prepare the tools. If there are specific areas of the community that the designers want to get input on you can develop the tools to gather feedback specific to those areas. Below is a description of the three main tools and their use: 1. First, develop worksheets for the focus areas. In this example there are two focus areas: the community park and the Michigan Street-scape / gateways. These worksheets will be used to first identify needs.
People:
Time:
Two groups, about 4 participants per group
30 minutes, 15 minutes per focus area
Tools:
Supplies:
• Focused worksheets
• Post-its
• Haughville Park Map
• Markers
• Pop-up Map
• Vote star
2. Second, print two big maps of the focus areas: the park and main street. 3. Third, you’ll need a picture inventory of park designs and gateways designs, that participants can reference. For the workshop, follow these activity steps: 1. The facilitator should explain “public green spaces”, it includes parks, and green spaces beside the streets, buildings, and housing. 2. Pass out the work sheet for the first focus area. Ask the participants to fill it out with the focus to better understand what could be improved.
• Picture Inventory
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
Private big space with large, 6ft long tables
• Pre-determine the focus areas and limit how many you choose
3. Then with what could be improved in mind, ask the participants to mood board with the provided picture inventory and design the ideal public green spaces map. The facilitator should prompt the participants to focus on addressing the needs. The group should work on the map together. As the participants have other ideas, they should write them down on the map or describe further on post-its. 4. At the end, ask each group to select their top three pictures/ ideas for the focus area. Follow these instructions again for the second focus area.
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Design Methods
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Design Methods: Sub-Session 2 Method: Lego-Prototyping Objective:
Activities:
This method addresses the height and density of the community, and the use of three-dimensional space. This requires the participants to create scale mock-ups of their preferred design of the city scape.
This method utilizes Legos to provide participants with the tools necessary to articulate their preferences for future development of building height and massing. This is also used to know how participants would like to see improvements made in the neighborhood. This method focuses on residences, businesses, infrastructure, parking, and recreational areas.
People:
Time:
1 recorder and up to 10 participants per table
30 minutes, divided into (3) 10-minute sprints
Tools:
Supplies:
• Scale build Lego buildings
• Loose Legos
• Scale map of neighborhood
• Post-its • Markers • Tape for labeling structures
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
This activity is more comfortable on large table that participants can stand around and move the Lego structures.
• Coordinate the recording process with additional facilitators or team members • Provide participants with ways of identifying their builds • Provide ample time for sharing and discussion
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1. The method is segmented in to three steps. In each step the residents were asked to place scale Lego buildings on a map of the neighborhood. 2. Residents are incrementally asked to make several variations on the map, going from pre-built Lego buildings to participants building their own buildings. 3. Participants are then asked to write their thoughts on post-its and on the map with markers. It is important for the facilitators to have various ways of capturing the exercise feedback. For this specific activity, the building process was recorded with video and there were also facilitator worksheets used to record participant responses.
Design Methods
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Design Methods: Sub-Session 2 Method: Note and Vote Objective:
Activities:
The qualitative note and vote was used to help evaluate street scape concepts for future development and elicit opinions on proposals.
Participants were shown a poster of the proposed concepts and were asked to give feedback based on three prompts.
Time:
Done as a whole group. If group exceeds from than 10 participants, there should be a duplicate map so that the group can be evenly divided.
20 minutes
Tools:
Supplies:
• Cheat sheet with prompts
• Post-it notes
• Poster of proposed improvements
• Markers
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
This activity is more comfortable on large tables with chairs around it so that participants can sit and write comfortably. Provide enough space around tables for participants to walk around.
• Prompt participants to visit the other side of the table to make sure they see all of the proposals.
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People:
1. Prompt 1:“ How closely does this match with how you envision your community?” 2. Prompt 2: “Is there anything that you would change?” 3. Prompt 3: “Tell us where you think these designs could go or fit in your community?”
• Remind participants of prompts and elapsed time.
These prompts were provided to participants by the facilitator and were also shown in reference sheets on the tables next to the maps they were working on. Participants were then asked to write their responses on Post-it notes and place them on the poster next to the example they were reviewing.
Design Methods
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Design Methods: Sub-Session 3 Method: See It and Say It Objective:
Activities:
This method is an easy way to get participants engaged. The goal is to have participants yell out their feedback when shown pictures of their community. This method is an easy and simple way to get everyone involved in a group setting. In previous practice, it was used as a warm-up activity to start the workshop. It also builds up the energy of the room with its fast-paced interaction.
1. The facilitator should stand in front of the group with the pictures pasted on the easel pad. Place one image per page that can be pulled away as each picture is revealed. 2. When the facilitator uncovers the picture, participants are encouraged to say loud their thoughts reacting to the picture that they see. 3. When the facilitator has collected enough responses for each page, uncover another picture for the next round of sharing.
Time:
Any size group, as long as all the participants can see the pictures clearly
5 to 10 minutes, depends on the number of pictures
Tools:
Supplies:
• 4 to 6 large printed pictures
• Easel and easel pad
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
Indoor room with sufficient lighting for seeing
• No answer is a bad answer, encourage participants to respond without criticism
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People:
Design Methods
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Design Methods: Sub-Session 3 Method: Internal Picturing Objective:
Activities:
This is a method for each participant to individually envision their ideal situation using a visual-thinking approach. After participants have a clear picture in their mind they are given a word-based survey to select their response according to what they envisioned. This method enables participants to envision their ideal community, and then circle the relevant adjectives on the survey that describe their expectations appropriately.
1. While participants close their eyes, the facilitator provides prompts to guide participants to picture their ideal situation. For example, “Picture an ideal neighborhood in which you would like to live”, or using a related-thinking approach: “Think about a favorite place you have visited before.” 2. Give participants 1-2 quiet minutes, and use the sound of a cow bell to invite participants to open their eyes again. 3. The facilitator explains the purpose and instructions for the survey to the group.
People:
Time:
Any size group
5 minutes
Tools:
Supplies:
• Printed survey paper
• A cow bell • Pens for each participant
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
A quiet space
• Use a calm and slow tone to prompt when participant have their eyes closed • Provide blank space for participants to provide their own answers if they can not find applicable adjective from the ones provided
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4. Participants will turn in the survey once completed.
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Design Methods: Sub-Session 3 Method: Alternative World Café Objective:
Activities:
This method was adapted from the World Café method originated from Juanita Brown and David Isaacs in 1995. This Alternative World Café works for a smaller group setting, shorter engagement and leverages the benefit of having extra facilitators to support the discussion with increased efficiency of information and consolidation during the instructed conversation. The content on the posters is considered a visual tool for initiating discussion and carrying that data from the initial group to another round of discussion for further validation.
People:
Time:
1 main facilitator 3 co-facilitators 3 groups, with 3 to 6 participants per group
30 minutes
Tools:
Supplies:
• Three posters full of images
• Tape
• Pens
• Post-its
• Cow bell
• Markers
• Timer
Type of Space:
Facilitator Tips:
An indoor room with sufficient wall space
• Control the time with alarms and timers • Co-facilitators need to leave enough time and space for group discussion and should not talk over the participants
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1. Hang large posters on the wall with sufficient space among each poster. Posters should contain images that have a variety of architectural components in order to receive feedback from the community (you can pull these images from previous activities like the half-day session). 2. Assign one co-facilitator standing next to each poster. 3. Divide all participants into three groups and assign each group to stand next to three different poster areas. 4. The main facilitator explains the instructions: Each group of participants will have 8 minutes to discuss the poster content. In these 8 minutes, participants can mark or write on the poster their comments with markers or pens. Post-its are an optional medium to write and paste to the relevant place on the poster. The three groups will rotate to each poster during the session, so every participant will be able to review each poster. Co-facilitators will listen and observe group conversation and answer participants’ question when it’s needed. Co-facilitators could include people from the design firms or community leaders. 5. After 8 minutes, each group will rotate to the next poster area when the main facilitator rings the cow bell. 6. In the second 8 minutes, each co-facilitator at the poster area will spend approximately 1 to 2 minutes to report the highlights of the previous group’s discussion to the new group of participants before the new group starts. The new group is welcome to add agreement, disagreement or any other new topics to the poster. 7. There should be how ever many rotations needed, depending on how many posters there are.
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Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments Thank You! We would like to express our deepest appreciation to all those who provided us the opportunity to complete this toolkit. A special gratitude is given to our professor, Pamela Napier, whose contribution in stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped us to conduct the research and develop methods in a meaningful way. Furthermore, we would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the crucial role of the River West Design Team, consisting of Halstead Architects, RLR Associates, and Green3. Their willingness to be an engaged partner in our people-centered process supported our learning, and we appreciate their contributions in the design of the tools and methods. Last but not least, we would like to thank the residents of River West and any other community participants that engaged in our process. Your unique perspective and contributions enabled us to co-design the guidelines for the River West community.
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