DCFA Design Principles 2022

DESIGNING CITIES FOR ALL

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

DCFA DESIGN PRINCIPLES: A LIVING DOCUMENT

AMSTERDAM, DECEMBER 2022

We have come to the end of Pakhuis de Zwijger’s two-year programme Designing Cities for All (DCFA), with support from the Creative Industries Fund NL. A period of learning and unlearning about inclusive design, and, consequently, exclusion by design: the notion that almost everything around us was once designed, by people – often with a certain social, financial and educational status – who have blind spots; because that’s simply how people work. As a result, people unlike those designers are often left out of the design, making it inherently exclusionary.

Together with over 150 inspirational speakers (designers, scientists, experts and many others), DCFA Fellows and educational, knowledge and design institutes, we dived into the domains of Diversity & Inclusion, Architecture, Climate, (Digital) Democracy, Equal Opportunities, Decolonisation, Technology, Healthcare, Journalism, Participation & Co-Design, Climate Justice and Education. What part does design play in all of those fields, and how might we redesign them to become more inclusive?

After the first year, this exploration of the design field accumulated in the publication of our first DCFA Essay Book, 18 Perspectives on Designing For All. In it, we identified six insights

that we gained in 2021, and eight tools to achieve putting them in practice. In 2022, we published the second DCFA Essay Book – More Perspectives on Designing Cities for All – and proceeded to learn, leading us to reevaluate those insights and the way we worded them. We asked experts from the field to reflect on them, to give us their thoughts, and to correct, tweak and scrutinise them.

The booklet before you is the culmination of everything this journey taught us. A list of eight design principles – not linear, but always interlinked – that can be used as a basis for those who’d like to design for all. Accompanying each principle, you’ll find explanations, examples, tools and recommendations for further reading, watching or listening. This booklet is not a comprehensive guide, nor is it a finished product. The DCFA Design Principles are (and should forever be) subject to reevaluation, scrutiny and new input.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the course of the last two years, it is to not just invite everyone to the table – let them build the table themselves! Scan the QR-code on the opposite page and let us know your ideas, corrections and additions. Let’s co-design the next edition together!

WHAT IS DESIGN?

PRINCIPLE DESIGN IS EVERYWHERE

THE NEW VOTE

“Everything around us was once designed, and can therefore be redesigned”, were the words of transition designer Rudy van Belkom during the DCFA programme Breaking it Down: Designing. Democratic systems, too, are a form of design. In 2015, Rudy proposed the project The New Vote, which advocated for a redesign of the Dutch voting system. According to Rudy, the current electoral system facilitates division and polarisation. Voters are uninformed about what exactly they are voting for and politicians focus on populist topics instead of the full range of their policies. The New Vote is a modular voting system: instead of voting for a specific party during elections, people can vote on a different party per theme. This way, they no longer cast votes on people, but on the actual content.

BREAKING IT DOWN: DESIGNING THE NEW VOTE

This principle aims to challenge the status quo of the design field and design thinking. Design is not confined to physical elements like buildings, products, services, public space or imagery. Almost everything around us was designed. Design seeps into social structures, policies and systems. To be able to design for all, it is important to cultivate and practise a broad understanding of what ‘design’ means. Here are some examples that showcase the broad scope of design(ing).

DE VERHALENBANK

Also designed: our mental healthcare systems. In the DCFA programme

Creating Cultures of Care: Redesigning (Mental) Healthcare, psychiatrist and author Floortje Scheepers advocates for a more human approach to mental healthcare. Over the past fifty years in psychiatry, the patient’s personal experiences and subjective stories have faded into the background. The focus has shifted to studying patients at the group and disorder level. As a result, care is increasingly protocolled and geared to the ‘average’ patient. Floortje aims to change that with the De Verhalenbank (‘the story bank’): a depot of collected stories that uses narrative research to gain deeper insight into the living environment of people with psychological vulnerabilities and their loved ones.

CREATING CULTURES OF CARE: REDESIGNING (MENTAL) HEALTHCARE

DE VERHALENBANK

all experience the city in a different way.”

LYONGO JULIANA THE IDENCITY: HUMAN EXPERIENCE

TOOL

Adopt a flexible mindset

Explore the unfamiliar, and accept that the world is in a continuous state of flux. Taking up an ‘anti-expert mindset’ leads you to fresh ideas, and helps you learn, evolve, and expand your thinking and awareness.

“We

WHAT IS DESIGN?

PRINCIPLE DESIGN IS POWERFUL

ARCHTIVISM

“Things won’t change if we just let things happen. We need people, we need role models, we need fighters, we need activists, ‘archtivists’, to go ahead and help the movements go on, for change to happen.” The power of design to bring about change echoes through Nyasha Harper-Michon’s story of Archtivism Archtivism, a term coined by Nyasha, blends up ‘architecture’ and ‘activism’ to create a movement that strives for a world in which the building industry contributes to positive change in the economy, environment and society as a whole. It is also about breaking down the status quo and existing excluding systems within the architecture profession, ultimately rebuilding a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.

In the DCFA programme Equity x Design: Tools and Opportunities, we discuss moving from an equitable mindset to practical design for a just and inclusive society.

EQUITY X DESIGN: TOOLS AND OPPORTUNITIES

READ NYASHA’S ESSAY ABOUT ARCHTIVISM IN THE DCFA BOOK 18 PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGNING CITIES FOR ALL

Design has the power to shape who is included or excluded. It is important for designers to critically reflect on positionality, power dynamics, context and larger systems of oppression. In cities, in particular, the awareness is growing that radical changes are necessary in order to achieve a fair, safe and healthy living environment for everyone. Design is powerful in the sense that it can make those changes happen.

RIGHTS OF NATURE

“Law is important, but it is never neutral. There’s all these power dynamics and you need political will to implement real decisions”, mentioned researcher Ana María Arbeláez Trujillo during the DCFA programme Realising Environmental Justice: Mobilising International Communities Laws were designed by people and have the power to inand exclude – whether purposely or accidentally.

A recent example of efforts to redivide power so law will become more inclusive is the Rights of Naturemovement, a legal field which has been spearheaded for years by local, often Indigenous communities. In the past, law considered nature a commodity to be used. Now, increasingly, nature is viewed as a subject with its own rights.

READ MORE ABOUT RIGHTS OF NATURE IN DCFA FELLOW DAPHINA MISIEDJAN’S ESSAY IN THE DCFA BOOK MORE PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGNING CITIES FOR ALL.

REALISING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: MOBILISING INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES

PODCAST PAKHUIS DE ZWIJGER X DAPHINA MISIEDJAN

TOOL

NADINE RIDDER EQUITY X DESIGN: REDESIGNING THE MINDSET

Build self-awareness

We all have intersecting privileges and disadvantages. While it can be uncomfortable to recognise your privileges, work through your discomfort and utilise them in a way that promotes more equitable outcomes for others in society.

“Everyone has to be able to look in the mirror and reflect on themselves.”

WHAT DOES DESIGN DO

DESIGN SHAPES

SENSE OF BELONGING

THE CASE OF JONES BEACH STATE PARK

Belonging is not merely about feeling at home or a sense of security; it is also political. To consider what it means to belong, means asking the question: When do I feel in- or excluded?

An example in which design meets the political impact of belonging is the case of Jones Beach State Park. The highway to this white-sand New York beach was designed by urban planner Robert Moses in 1929. Its viaducts, which were built between 1920 and 1970, are a mere 2.70 metres high, rendering it impossible for buses to get to the park. And who rides the bus? Those who cannot afford a car. Being a marginalised socio-economic demographic, this applies to the majority of the Black population in the United States. Therefore, this is a clear example of exclusionary design. In this case, the exclusionary nature of the design was even intentional, as it was a part of oppressive systems of active racial segregation during that period, like the Jim Crow laws. The effects last to the present day: the highways and viaducts still exist, causing social inequality.

‘Belonging’ can mean different things to different people. Sociologist Nira Yuval-Davis defines it as “a feeling of emotional attachment, feeling at home and feeling safe.”

Design has the ability to create this safety, a sense of home, and access to participating in and contributing to the world. Designing for a sense of belonging is not just about creating aesthetically beautiful spaces or products – it involves creating connections to space, city or community, and exploring the various scales of safety and home-making in the superdiverse world of today.

PRINCIPLE

OUR

The DCFA programme Public Space Paradox explores for whom public spaces are designed, who are excluded and why.

PUBLIC SPACE PARADOX

READ MORE ABOUT THE RACIST DESIGN OF JONES BEACH STATE PARK IN THIS PIN-UP MAGAZINE ARTICLE

6 ISLANDS ZINE

6 ISLANDS zine is an initiative that highlights (hi)stories related to the six islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands – Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. Many stories from these islands remain hidden or experience erasure,‘as if they never even existed’. The magazine is both an archive to showcase the stories of the Dutch Caribbean and a manifesto that connects the Dutch Caribbean community. Colonisation is embedded in society and seeps into identities. The process of decolonisation can be complex and lonely. Community is a medium to heal from the past, and reimagine a collective future.

DECOLONISING X DESIGN: ONCE UPON A (COLONIAL) TIME…

6 ISLANDS ZINE

JORIS LECHÊNE

TOOL

DECOLONISING

X DESIGN: THE PAST IS NOW

Create a sense of community

Bringing people together is the first step, but it’s not enough. Take the time to invite a wide range of people to the table, and facilitate a culture that creates a safe space. This enables authentic engagement from all participants.

“Looking after ourselves is also carrying out our duty towards our community.”

WHAT DOES DESIGN DO

SUSTAIN

INJUSTICES

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a video went viral about a ‘racist’ soap dispenser. The dispenser uses an optical sensor, which is meant to respond by pouring soap when the user slides their hand under it. Many sensors, however, have trouble registering dark skin – so when a Black person tries to use them, no soap comes out. Another example: a photo app released by Google in 2015 displayed Black individuals when users searched for the word ‘gorilla’.

When an algorithm ‘discriminates’, it echoes the exclusionary patterns that are part of a broader social context. Moreover, it tends to reflect the people who were on the design team. This particular design flaw may not have occurred, had there been a Black designer or engineer on the team. When exclusionary patterns continue to flow within technology, the risk (and reality) is that machines copy humans’ discriminatory behaviour.

HACKING THE CITY: THE PEOPLE VS. BIG TECH

IN THIS VIDEO, VOX FURTHER EXPLAINS THE CONCEPT OF ‘AUTOMATING RACISM.

The dominant narrative of design and design thinking is often rooted in systems of oppression and exclusion. What we tend to is design for the middle, not for the margins. When we start designing for the people who are actually living with the failures of our designed products, spaces and systems, we will create and build stronger for everyone.

PRINCIPLE DESIGN HAS FLAWS, WHICH

AND PERPETUATE

GENDER BIAS & CRASH DUMMY TESTING

Did you know that, currently, the ‘average male’ is used as the norm for crash dummies, representing all shapes and sizes of humans during a crash? The design flaw: the female part of the population is invisible in tests performed by consumer information organisations, resulting in exorbitantly more risk of injury among female bodies than among male bodies when driving. This is not only evident in the transport system, but also in the design of other products and cities. Traffic safety researcher and professor Astrid Linder has been advocating to break this exclusionary and fatal cycle for years. She is involved in injury prevention since the late 1990s and is renowned for her work in developing both physical and virtual models of the average female for crash testing. Next to gathering data, Astrid also focuses on regulation and using international law agreements to break this cycle.

DESIGN FROM INCLUSION: PRODUCTS & SERVICES

WATCH THIS TED TALK BY ASTRID LINDER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EVA , THE FIRST FEMALE AVERAGE CRASH-TEST DUMMY

TOOL

HENK OVINK TOGETHER WE DESIGN: MAKING TANGIBLE IMPACT

Acknowledge your bias

Messages of bias are omnipresent. Learn to actively recognise and unlearn bias and prejudice, while simultaneously learning inclusive behaviours.

“It takes as much time to do something good as it does to do something bad.”

WHO IS THE DESIGNER?

PRINCIPLE EVERYONE IS A (RE)DESIGNER

CO-DESIGN

Often, when designers or policymakers set up a participatory design process, what ends up happening is more of a multiple choice survey. The people for whom they are designing the product, service or system are offered a couple of fully developed options, between which they can choose. This, however, is not what genuine co-design looks like, as it only taps into the needs and wants of the users all the way at the end of the design process – when the prejudices, biases and preconceived notions of the designers have already made their way into the design. So how can designers truly involve users in the complete design process, making sure that what ends up on the table fits their requirements?

TOGETHER WE DESIGN: IS EVERYONE A DESIGNER?

USE THIS FREE CO-DESIGN CANVAS, CREATED BY INNOVATION STRATEGIST WINA SMEENK, TO HELP YOU GO THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCESS WHILE TAKING ALL STAKEHOLDERS INTO ACCOUNT.

We all make, build, arrange and restructure parts of our lives. In that sense, basically everyone can and does participate in design. This also means people outside the traditional design domain are constantly making significant design choices. As designers, we have to involve the right people in the design process and learn how to interface and interact with the current systems and power paradigms, in order to build inclusive solutions from the ground up. In other words: ‘Not about them, without them.’

DE VOORKAMER

De Voorkamer is an open cultural space in Utrecht, the Netherlands – as initiators Shay Raviv (a designer and curator, who talks about De Voorkamer in the DCFA programme Breaking it Down: For All ) and Pim van der Mijl describe it: “A place to belong, a safe place for new experiences.” Implementing values of equality, co-creation and individuality, De Voorkamer harnesses the power of cultural diversity, design processes, and creativity, creating a safe space for people with different backgrounds to connect with one another. The barriers between participants, leaders and designers blur: everyone is free to initiate projects that peak their interest. De Voorkamer itself also inhabits this fluid nature – the space, objects and content transform according to people, interest and context.

BREAKING IT DOWN: FOR ALL READ SHAY’S ESSAY ABOUT VULNERABILITY IN THE DCFA BOOK MORE PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGNING CITIES FOR ALL

TOOL

LELANI LEWIS DECOLONISING X DESIGN: CRAFTING A SHARED FUTURE

Put together diverse teams

Inequality in design is a consequence of having a limit on the voices represented in the design and development process. Drive broader engagement and inclusion of crosscultural, multigenerational, and diverse voices throughout when designing for the diversity of the human spectrum.

“We have to heal collectively, we have to help each other understand the constructs that divide us.”

WHO IS THE DESIGNER?

PRINCIPLE CONSIDERING THE CONTEXT

IS ESSENTIAL

EXCLUSIONARY ZONING

In 2021, research by Harvard University showed that a person’s zip code is a better predictor of their life span and education level than their genetic code. The researchers compared the lifespan of people living in particular neighbourhoods in the city of St. Louis, USA. There, a long strip called Delmar Boulevard marks the line between the north neighbourhood, largely in habited by African Americans – and the south neighbourhood, a mostly white community. The north side was more polluted, and so, the average lifespan of its residents was 15 years shorter than that of the south. Also, they were far less likely to have a bachelor’s degree.

In the DCFA programme Realising Environmental Justice: The Complexity of Inequality, Julian Agyeman explains that in the US, urban planning was configured around segregation and white supremacy. Covenants that said who could buy or rent in a neighbourhood; redlining; the racist zoning laws that were struck down by the Supreme Court in 1917, after which cities started to push ‘single family zoning’,

an exclusionary zoning

It is important to be aware that designing for all does not mean applying a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Sensitivity to context is essential: what works in one place, may have completely opposite effects elsewhere. This sensitivity includes taking into account all relevant factors in a situation or context, such as culture, social norms, gender (identity and expression), the historical framework and socio-economic position, environment and climate.

technique making housing extremely expensive on large lots so only rich (and, therefore, often white) people could buy. In the US, as Julian mentions, “urban planning has become the spatial toolkit of white supremacy”. Which is why considering all of these contextual markers (location, roots, socioeconomic background, gender, history, et cetera) is incredibly important when designing for all.

REALISING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: THE COMPLEXITY OF INEQUALITY

RESEARCH HARVARD ON LINKS BETWEEN SEGREGATION AND POOR HEALTH

TOOL

Practise critical self-reflection

Ask why you are creating something in the first place. Deeply investigate what values and contributions you might offer, and know when you are taking up too much space.

PRISCILLA NAMWANJE BREAKING THE MOULD

“Rules are important, but they have to be applied to a certain context.”

HOW DO WE DESIGN FOR

PRINCIPLE INCLUSION HAPPENS BY DESIGN OR NOT AT ALL

TRICKLE

An example of systems that can actively be redesigned to become more inclusive are recruitment schemes. Many recruitment systems require job seekers to send in certain identity markers, for instance their portrait, name or gender. Keep in mind that only 5 per cent of what we do happens consciously. This means a majority of our actions are influenced by the subconscious mind. Consequently, recruitment system results may be selected by companies based on biases of differing nature – racist or sexist prejudice, to name a few. This ultimately excludes people from receiving equal opportunities when applying for a job. In the DCFA programme Design from Inclusion: Systems, speaker Nica Renoult explains how her organisation, Trickle, combats biased recruitment by anonymising job applications and limiting the amount of information recruiters receive to the truly relevant, like skills, qualities and experience.

DESIGN FROM INCLUSION: SYSTEMS

THIS PRINCIPLE CAME STRAIGHT FROM THE MOUTH OF WRITER AND ACTIVIST OLUTIMEHIN KUKOYI DURING THE DCFA PROGRAMME BREAKINGITDOWN:FORALL . LISTEN TO PAKHUIS DE ZWIJGER’S PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH HER HERE!

Design can cause, but also sort out exclusion. If designers don’t actively seek out being a part of the solution by redesigning exclusionary spaces, structures and systems to become more inclusive, they are likely a part of the problem. In order to arrive at systems and living environments to which everyone can relate — regardless of age, cultural background, ethnicity, gender, mental and physical capacities, religion and other factors — in a fair, equal and equitable manner, ask yourself: ‘Who am I excluding?’.

MAKERS VALLEY

In the city of Johannesburg, SouthAfrica, the Makers Valley neighbourhood has developed a way to empower its residents in forming a flourishing community, without needing nonprofits or governments to intervene, as Makers Valley community builder Thobile Chittenden explained in the DCFA programme Together We Design: Navigating Barriers and Conflicts. Instead, they use an enabling approach. Thobile and her colleagues founded Makers Valley Partnership, which enables residents to use their knowledge and expertise to develop social and creative enterprises by merely facilitating their needs: spaces, tools (like computers), access to wifi, etcetera. Through this work, the organisation helps residents transform their neighbourhood into a community, with ownership, solidarity and agency. A great example of successful co-design, in which the users are actively included and empowered.

TOGETHER WE DESIGN: NAVIGATING BARRIERS AND CONFLICTS MAKERS VALLEY

TOOL

Design by listening Design thinking is a system built on empathy. Go beyond empathy; ask questions, learn from people whose insights come from lived experience, and give them space, resources, and time to lead.

INDY JOHAR TRANSITIONING TOGETHER: DCFA X DARK MATTER LABS FELLOWSHIP LAUNCH

“I think inclusion is not a choice.”

HOW DO WE DESIGN FOR

PRINCIPLE DESIGNING FOR ALL IS AN ONGOING CRITICAL PROCESS OF LEARNING AND UNLEARNING EDUCATION

FOR ALL

In the DCFA programme Education for All: How can we redesign the education system?, Roberto Rocco – Associate Professor of Spatial Planning and Strategy at TU Delft – describes noticing a shift in the university discourse. Ten years ago, he explains, everybody was talking about ‘city competitiveness’: how do we grow our cities as fast as possible, and how do we compete with other ones? We used to focus on exploiting the city purely for human benefit. Now, however, we consider the city and its inhabitants something to heal, something worthy of careful attention. Education plays a critical role in shaping a future where everything and everyone feels like they belong. But to change the output of education, we have to change the system itself. Constant reflection is key. So, Roberto wonders: “How can we explore this moment of reflection and introduce more of them in the classroom, so students can embark on this journey of thinking differently?”

AIDARBEKOVA ARCHITECTURES OF TRUST: DESIGNING A PUBLIC DOMAIN

EDUCATION FOR ALL: HOW CAN WE REDESIGN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM?

READ ROBERTO’S ESSAY IN THE DCFA BOOK MORE PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGNING CITIES FOR ALL

AIGANYSH

DESIGNING YOUR OWN NOTES:

This booklet is not a comprehensive guide. In fact, the DCFA Design Principles are (and should forever be) subject to re-evaluation, scrutiny and new input – which is why we left some blank space here for you. Scribble down your notes, comments, questions or any principles that you feel are either missing or redundant. Let’s co-design the next edition together!