Communities: Participatory design for, with and by communities

Abstract:

The emergence of community-based Participatory Design as a distinctive field of Participatory Design is relatively recent. In this chapter we trace major themes in Participatory Design for, with and by communities and discuss topics that are shaping the future of the field. Comparatively small as an area of research and practice, community-based Participatory Design promises to grow in importance in light of the continuing expansion of digital networking in the context of prevailing neo-liberal market globalisation forces and the publics organised against those forces. The ongoing trend of lower cost, smaller size, increased capability, tighter interconnection and deeper penetration of information technologies into everyday life presents opportunities to bring Participatory Design perspectives to bear in community contexts. Accompanying this technological trend, and indirectly related to it, is the rising importance of social services and civil society. As Carroll et al. note [N]on-profit community service groups … address important societal issues such as environmental protection and sustainable development, historical preservation, the arts, provision of medical services and distribution of food to the needy, housing construction for low-income people, protection of animals, aspects of public safety and security, and much more.

Año de publicación:

2012

Keywords:

Fuente:

scopus