Democratic design experiments in urban planning – navigational practices and compositionist design

In the field of urban planning, public participation and inclusion of citizens have been practised and researched for many years. However, a focus on co-creative urban planning practices seems to have gained more focus over the last decade and calls for new urban planning practices, which allow experimentation and imagination, and at the same time take its outset in the existing networks in the city (such as visions, strategies, regulations and practices) when planning for the future. In this article, we investigate how a compositionist design programme can be translated into the practices of urban planners. We find that the notion of ‘democratic design experiments’ in many ways meet the demands of the increasingly complex field of urban planning and set out to explore how such a design programme can be applied in practice. We suggest ‘navigational practice’ as a way of describing how urban planners deal with ‘drawing things together’ in urban space and introduce ‘sensitivity’, ‘staging’ and ‘mobilization’ as interconnected elements of this practice. We exemplify the significance of these navigational practices by analysing two democratic design experiments in the area of urban waste management in Copenhagen. The article concludes that compositionist design is a powerful contribution to the framing of urban planning projects and that navigational practice can be a productive way of operationalising democratic design experiments in the urban context.     

How was it for you? Experiences of participatory design in the UK health service

Improving co-design methods implies that we need to understand those methods, paying attention to not only the effect of method choices on design outcomes, but also how methods affect the people involved in co-design. In this article, we explore participants' experiences from a year-long participatory health service design project to develop ‘Better Outpatient Services for Older People’. The project followed a defined method called experience-based design (EBD), which represented the state of the art in participatory service design within the UK National Health Service. A sample of participants in the project took part in semi-structured interviews reflecting on their involvement in and their feelings about the project. Our findings suggest that the EBD method that we employed was successful in establishing positive working relationships among the different groups of stakeholders (staff, patients, carers, advocates and design researchers), although conflicts remained throughout the project. Participants' experiences highlighted issues of wider relevance in such participatory design: cost versus benefit, sense of project momentum, locus of control, and assumptions about how change takes place in a complex environment. We propose tactics for dealing with these issues that inform the future development of techniques in user-centred healthcare design.     

Evaluating performance in urban development networks – the Nordic context

This article examines the performance of three urban development networks typical of the Nordic countries. While such networks generally are believed to produce effective solutions to the complex problems they are established to solve, not all networks perform well. In the three illustrative cases discussed in the article the stakeholders themselves, despite obvious lack of immediate results, seem to evaluate the networks in rather positive terms. Positioned in the literature on evaluation and network performance we discuss whether there are instrumental reasons to believe in this self-evaluation. This article discusses four criteria: goal attainment, well-informed and joint understanding, participation/representativeness and favourable conditions for future collaboration.     

Housing and the elderly in Singapore – financial and quality of life implications of ageing in place

In spite of the unprecedented success of publichousing in Singapore, the rapid rate at whichthe population is greying is causing housingstress in the matured Housing and DevelopmentBoard (HDB) estates. Although new housingoptions such as studio apartments are beingprovided by the public sector while a recentlyformed housing cooperative is developing aretirement village, the majority of the elderlyin Singapore prefer to age in place,notwithstanding the imbalance between thedemands of their homes and the functioninglevel of the elderly persons' physical andbiological systems. This implies that homemodification, rather than new-built elderlyhousing, may be a more pragmatic solution tothe elderly Singaporeans' housing problems thatcould also improve their quality of life. Since85% of the population of Singapore live inpublic housing, this paper examines the typesof home modifications that could be carried outto the existing stock of public housing so asto create a suitable living environment for theelderly. In addition, the paper considers thehousing finance predicaments of the elderlySingaporean and explores possible financinginstruments that could be implemented tosupport home modifications for Singapore'sgreying population. The paper concludes thatsince home modification(s) could improve thequality of life of the elderly persons morethan specialised housing, public funds shouldbe diverted from building new specialisedhousing to home modification(s) for elderlyhome owners.     

Intercomparison of air quality data using principal component analysis, and forecasting of PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ concentrations using artificial neural networks, in Thessaloniki and Helsinki

In this paper we propose a methodology consisting of specific computational intelligence methods, i.e. principal component analysis and artificial neural networks, in order to inter-compare air quality and meteorological data, and to forecast the concentration levels for environmental parameters of interest (air pollutants). We demonstrate these methods to data monitored in the urban areas of Thessaloniki and Helsinki in Greece and Finland, respectively. For this purpose, we applied the principal component analysis method in order to inter-compare the patterns of air pollution in the two selected cities. Then, we proceeded with the development of air quality forecasting models for both studied areas. On this basis, we formulated and employed a novel hybrid scheme in the selection process of input variables for the forecasting models, involving a combination of linear regression and artificial neural networks (multi-layer perceptron) models. The latter ones were used for the forecasting of the daily mean concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 for the next day. Results demonstrated an index of agreement between measured and modelled daily averaged PM₁₀ concentrations, between 0.80 and 0.85, while the kappa index for the forecasting of the daily averaged PM₁₀ concentrations reached 60% for both cities. Compared with previous corresponding studies, these statistical parameters indicate an improved performance of air quality parameters forecasting. It was also found that the performance of the models for the forecasting of the daily mean concentrations of PM₁₀ was not substantially different for both cities, despite the major differences of the two urban environments under consideration.     

Can community design build trust? A comparative study of design factors in Boise,Idaho neighborhoods

Finding ways to increase trust may be one mechanism to overcome the alleged negative consequences of urban sprawl for neighborhoods. This study explores two relationships with community design and trust. First, is one benefit of some of the underlying concepts of New Urbanism design that they build trust? Second, can these design concepts overcome one undesirable feature of cities: the deleterious effect of income inequality on trust? This study uses survey data collected from 34 city of Boise neighborhoods and 2000 US census data aggregated to the neighborhood level to examine the effects of street design, sidewalks and open space on building trust and moderating the effect of income inequality on trust. The study finds that cul-de-sac designed streets, sidewalks and parks or open space increase trust. There is no evidence that design features actually moderate the effects of income inequality on trust. The findings suggest that local governments can influence the quality of life for residents in their communities through neighborhood design even if municipalities cannot use design to moderate the effects of income equality on trust.     

Designers’ articulation and activation of instrumental design judgements in cross-cultural user research

Abstract

Cross-cultural design practices have begun to rise in prominence, but these practices have infrequently intersected with common user-centred design practices that value the participation and lived experience of users. In this paper, we analyse a shared data-set that documented the efforts of a Scandinavian design team as they designed a co-creation workshop with Chinese consumers. We identified how the design team referred to workshop participants, focusing on how these references implicated the design team’s understanding of Chinese culture. We identified referents to the participants to locate projection of and reflection on participant interaction, and performed a thematic analysis of design and debrief activities to document the team’s articulation and activation of instrumental judgements relating to culture. The team’s instrumental judgements shifted over time, moving from totalising cultural references in the design phase to frequent translator-mediated interactions in the debrief phase. Translators ‘nuanced’ the cultural meanings being explored by the design team, while team members attempted to engage with cultural concerns by ‘making familiar’ these concerns within the context of their own culture. Implications for considering culture as a part of standard user research methods and paradigms are considered, along with practical considerations for foregrounding cultural assumptions in design activity.     

From diversity to justice – Unraveling pluralistic rationalities in urban design

For Jane Jacobs, the city is a fundamental unit of diversity; she develops her ideas in the city around this key axiom. Diversity provides an ethical orientation and thus defines what a just city should achieve. For Jacobs, justice is represented by peoples' inherent right to ‘make cities’. According to Jacobs, cities become just places by their ability to facilitate the spontaneous dynamics among social fabrics and urban spaces to generate the beauty and value of cities. This contribution picks up this claim for diversity and develops a theoretical lens to explore how diversity is incorporated in urban design. We use a theory on pluralism—Cultural Theory—to analyse forms of managing urban space in different types of goods. This is applied to analyse four idealistic urban spaces in the city of Leipzig.     

The feasibility of new design of hybrid photovoltaic-thermal system – a theoretical approach

Hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors have been evaluated according to the physical features of commercial photovoltaic (PV) cells; therefore, their commercial application is limited. The Tedlar collector has good electrical insulating properties, resulting in reduction in electrical efficiency. A researcher found that a glazed PVT system without Tedlar was the best among others, showing a significant increase in the overall efficiency. Inspired by this finding, we thought to study, for the first time, the feasibility of a new PVT that has been built by modifying a commercial PV panel and retrofitting it with the integration of two tubes in glass above the PV cell pasted on a thin metal ribbon before PV encapsulation. A heat transfer modelling/simulation in 3D was performed using COMSOL Multiphysics software.

The results show that under the no-cooling situation, the PV cell temperature reaches 74.87°C and the electrical power dropped significantly to 0.113 for electrical efficiency of 0.15 at the reference conditions. The water flow velocity is determined so that the cell can be effectively cooled. The cell temperature variation reaches to 45.9°C for a flow velocity of 0.5m/s, an irradiation of 1000W/m² and ambient temperature equal to 20.15°C.     

Guidance of students＇ subconsciousness in architectural design

文章从建筑设计思维本源的论述开始,提出并深入分析了学生的建筑潜意识设计思维概念,提倡教师在教学过程中要引导低年级学生培养建筑潜意识设计思维,并对如何正确引导低年级学生建筑潜意识设计思维的教学途径及方法提出了设想和建议。     

Optimum mix design of enhanced permeable concrete – An experimental investigation

Permeable pavement, due to its high porosity and permeability, is considered as an alternative to traditional impervious hard pavements for controlling stormwater in an economical and friendly environmental way. Permeable concrete normally made of single-sized aggregate bound together by Portland cement, using restrictedly as a pavement material, because of its insufficient structural strength. Aimed at developing a new type of permeable concrete with enhanced structural strength, various mix designs were attempted and their effects on the compressive strength and permeability of permeable concrete were investigated in this research. The optimum aggregate and mix components design were consequently recommended for enhanced permeable concrete.     

Memory,narrative and display – city museums in recent initiatives and debates

Currently, the study and the exhibition of the history and artistic traces of city development are gaining new interest. Several Italian and European cities are proposing, or have just established, organisations or museums intended to ‘display’ their past. Recently a research group has been constitued at the University IUAV of Venice based on the premiss that a contemporary City Museum has to be a conduit for knowledge to a large and varied public including, on equal terms: citizens, immigrants, tourists and people with cultural and professional interests in the urban environment. In this sense Venice seems to be a very good clase‐study. While an important initiative, such as the constitution of a new Museum of the twentieth century in Mestre (the mainland of Venice) is going on, the research group thinks that this kind of institution, within the framework of a very complex and rich system of museums, such as the Venetian one, could have a wide remit. In fact, one of the special key issues for Venice in the twentieth century has been opening up its cultural and productive activities to the external world. Foreigner visitors, as well as many citizens have always had the vision of Venice as a medieval and renaissance city with a very old historical centre. Yet in the course of the twentieth century, the urban settlement had greatly changed in a very interesting and innovative way. This has to be explained and shown to both tourists and the Venetians.     

Emotional mapping and its participatory potential: Opinions about cycling conditions in Reykjavík,Iceland

Many cities have prioritised the provision of bicycle infrastructure, as part of a transition to more sustainable transport. Information from the users of bicycle facilities is crucial for successful bicycle planning. The article presents a case study of Reykjavík, Iceland, where a simple ‘emotional mapping’ platform was used to enable cyclists to express their emotional reactions to routes and places. A sample of 100 users identified some 541 features - lines and points - on a map of the city, associated them with either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ emotions and wrote textual comments to elaborate on the reasons for their judgement. The results indicate clearly the importance of the natural environment for cyclists, as well as the negative feeling engendered by cycling close to car traffic or in the street with the cars. These data support the emphases found in the present bicycling plan of Reykjavík city. In general, volunteered geographical information and crowdsourcing has much potential for increasing citizen participation in urban planning. A flexible software platform for participatory mapping, such as the one used in the study, can be a valuable addition to the planner‘s toolbox.     

Ecological succession in mountain lake ecosystems of Southern Siberia after the introduction of the peled – Coregonus peled (Gmeli, 1778)

Abstract

This article summarizes a long-standing study of the process of introduction of the peled to the Southern Siberian mountain lake ecosystems. The peled has adapted to changes in food supply. Pressure of the euryphagous peled caused the substitution of larger forms of zooplankton by smaller ones. Similar changes occurred in the content of phytoplankton. Succession of zoobenthos in the littoral part of the lakes manifested itself as the decrease in the total biomass, in its part of zoobenthos (Gammarus) and as the increase in the biomass of other groups. The opposite changes were encountered in the profundal zone of zoobenthos (the decrease in the total biomass owing to the existence of larger forms of alpha-polysaprobes). The restructuring observed in various communities signifies the substantial changes in the whole process of generation and transformation of organic substance in the mountain ecosystems with the dominance of the introduced peled.