DraftProgramGuide
Introducing ASF-UK
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Designforequitablecities
ASF-UKisanon-profitorganisationthat supportscommunitiesandpractitionersincodesigningmoreequitablecities.Ourwork centresaroundthreeareas:
Weprovidesocio-technicalsupport
Weshareknowledge
Wewanttoensurethattheprinciplesof participatorydesignandplanningforequitable urbandevelopmentbecomeintegraltobuilt environmentpractice.Todoso,webring togethercivilsocietygroups,education institutionsandprofessionalorganisations,and facilitateknowledgesharingthrough workshops,seminarsandthecreationof learningresources.
Weaimtoassistourpartnersinaffecting changeintheirowncontextsbyprovidingthem withspecialistdesignandplanningsupport.To dothis,weforgestrongrelationshipswithlocal organisations,workcloselywithcivilsociety groupsandtheirsupportnetworks,and facilitatetheengagementofotherbuilt environmentpractitionersandstakeholders.
Weadvocate
Throughourcommunicationandpublic engagementactivities,weaimtoinfluence policyandpracticeinthebuiltenvironment. Wemakevisibletheimpactofurbanexclusion onpeople’slives;demonstrateoptionsfor equitableurbandevelopment;andpromote methodsforcentringequityinarchitecture, urbanplanninganddesign.
AboutASF-UK
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OurTheoryofChange
ExampleProjects Cartagena,Colombia,2014-2017 Twoyearprojecttoassist22 localcommunitiestodevelop community-basedmanagement strategyandresilience. Freetown,SierraLeone,2017PartnershipwiththeSierra LeoneUrbanResearchCentre (SLURC)todevelopinclusive andsociallyequitable approachestoimproving Freetown’sinformalsettlements. London,UK-2014 2-weekworkshopsupportingthe workofCitizensUKtoexplore theimpactoflarge-scale redevelopmentandrepresent theresidents’aspirations Readmore:www.asf-uk.org/ pages/13-our-work 04
Howweusedesign Weusedesignasawayto approachcomplex interwovenissues.Adrawing oranimageoftensaysmore thanadescription… GiveeveryoneavoiceUnpackComplexity Wefindthatoftenwhen groupscometogether discussionsaredominated byoneortwoconfident individuals.Weusedesignas asociallevellerwhichallows everyonetoparticipatefairly. Usingthetoolsofdesignforworkshopsandactivitieslike sketching,modellingandillustrationswhilefollowingthe iterativeprocessofdesigntotestideasallowsusto:
GroundIdeas
Inexistingcommunity
tocollectivelyimagine
DreamCollectively
engagements,communities areoftenaskedwhatthey wantindividually.Exploring aspirationsthroughdesign givespeopletheopportunity
visionsfortheir neighbourhoodsandtowns.
Whenweuseparticipatory designapproachesto communityengagementour resultsarebasedonreal experiences,wellconsidered andmeasured.Communities canalsoengagewiththe contentmoreseriouslyand enjoytheactivitiesbetter. 06
Resilienceby Design
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AboutResiliencebyDesign
ResiliencebyDesign(RbD)utilisesparticipatory methodstobuildlocalresiliencein communities,especiallythosethatare vulnerabletoclimatechange.Initiativesare groundedinpartnershipswithlocaland internationalorganisations,andapproaches questionsofenvironmentalchange,riskand recoveryacrossdifferentscalesanddisciplines. RbDexploressocio-ecologicalissuesinthe contextofurbanchange,theclimate emergency,environmentalhazards,resource scarcitiesanddepletedecosystems.The programmefocusesonbridginglocal knowledgewithscientificandevidencebased informationbyutilisingparticipatorydesign, action-learning. Withthisapproachwefacilitatetheformulation offuturescenariosandconcretesolutionsthat candeveloplong-termresilienceinbothurban andruralcontexts,whileretainingastrong learningfocusthatallowscommunitiesand differentstakeholderstounderstandand reflectonthecomplexinteractionbetween humansandtheecosystemstheyinhabitand effect.
TheResiliencebyDesignprogrammehasbeen developedthroughinternationalpartnerships withNGOs,grassrootsorganisations,academia andlocalgovernmentagencies. ResiliencebyDesignisnowexploringhow communitiescanapproachtheclimateand biodiversityemergencyinajustandequitable waywhichimprovesqualityoflifeaswellas theenvironment.
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ResiliencebyDesignlooksto improvelong-termcommunity resiliencetoenvironmentaland
Resiliencewiththefollowing threeprincipleabilities:
socialthreats,giving communitiestoolstomanage changeandtolivewithinglobal means. RbDdefinesCommunity
Absorbandrecover fromshortand long-termthreats TheAbilityto: 1 Manageandadapt tochange&risks 2 Plan&acttogether3 HowdowedefineResilience?
improvelocal qualityoflife 2 Designfor future generations 1 Address harmfulpower structuresfor betterequity andfairness 3 RBDfocusesonlong-termresilienceandtherequirementtotackle interconnectedsystemsandneeds.Itaimsto: Understand Globalimpact andplanetary 4 WhatdoesRBDStrivetoAchieve 10 Integrate morethan humanneeds 5
Voiceswewillbringtothetable Participantsfrom thecommunity Participants fromNature
Participants fromthe world
Participants
StagesofDesign
Diagnosis
Dreaming
1 2
Thediagnosisstageassessesthe currentsituationandanalyseslocal realitiesandurbantrends.
Thedreamingstageinvolves conversationsaboutthefutureofan areaanduncoverstheneeds, aspirationsandimaginedfuture scenariosofresidents.
ResiliencebyDesignusesfourstagesofdesign toexplorecomplexity.Thesefourstagesare Diagnosis,Dreaming,DevelopingandDefining,
3 4 Developing Thedevelopingstageisfocusedon refiningideasandtestingthemas workablesolutions Defining Thedefiningstageisaboutcapturing thelearningfromthewholeprocess andcreatingeasytounderstandplans andwaysofsharinginformation effectively.
ResiliencebyDesignMethodology
Thisdiagramshows howweapproach communityresilience projectswith communitiesand breaksdownthe activitiesineachofthe stagesintoeasyto understandsteps.
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DiagnosisActivities
BuildingUnderstandingof
Homescale
Thehomescalelooksathomesof
DiagnosisAcrossScales
TheResilienceFrameworkis
Communityscale
Thecommunityscalelooksatthe
thecommunity,thecityandthe globalscale.
Cityscale
Thecityscalelooksatacityasa
Globalscale
Thescalelooksatglobalimpactsof
assessedacrossavarietyof scales.Communitieswilllookat thedimensionsoftheirchosen issuesatthescaleofthehome,
residentsandtheirimmediate surroundings,aswellasthestreetor stairtheysharecollectively.
neighbourhoodoramixof neighbourhoodswhichmakeupan areaofthecity.Theareamightbe definedbyschoolcatchmentareas.
communityofcommunitiesandahost ofsharedinteractionsbetweenthem.
decisionsmadeathome,community andcitywidelevelswhichmayimpact thelong-termresilienceofthe community
Context&LocalKnowledge
InformationGathering
Theinformationgathering activitiesiswherecommunity groupsandindividualstake partinexerciseswheredata, localknowledgeand informationaboutthe communityandits environmentarecollectedand exploredaheadoffurther analysis
Understandingthe Communitywith Design
Thisactivitywillencourage participantstoexplorethe communitywithextra dimensionsofspatial understandingandto expresshiddenrealities whichconversationoften can’treveal.
Definingthe Resilience Framework
Thisactivitywillallow participantstoselect thecriteriaandtopics theywanttoassess andimprovewhichwill formpartofthe CommunityResilience Framework.
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DreamingActivities
SpaceforCollectiveAspirations
ForthedreamingstageofRbD,thefocusofactivitiesisoncreatingissuebasedprioritieswhichcan beusedasafocusfordreamingabetterfutureasaseriesofvisionswhichcanbeactedoninlater stages.
Comingtogetheraround importantissues
Usingthelessonsfromthe multi-scalaranalysisfrom thediagnosisstage,thenext activitieslookatframing communityissuesasa refinedsetofprioritieswhich canbeuseasthebasisfor dreamingactivities.
Exploringwithissues throughdesign
Usingthelessonsfromthe multi-scalaranalysisfrom thediagnosisstage,thenext activitieslookatframing communityissuesasa refinedsetofprioritieswhich canbeuseasthebasisfor dreamingactivities.
Dreamingaseriesof collectivevisions
Onceprioritiesare established.Participantstake partinanumberofdesign ledactivitieswherethe combinedresultsarebuilt intoresponsivevisionsfor howthoseprioritiescanbe delivered
DevelopingActivities
RefiningVisions(TestingIdeas)
ModellingOptionsaspathways
Onceprioritiesareestablished. Participantstakepartinanumberof interactivedesignledactivities wherethecombinedresultsarebuilt intovisionsforhowthosepriorities couldbeapproachedandthebest futuregenerated.
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DefiningActivities
Workingtowardimplementation
Priortostartingtoprocess,there shouldbeanunderstandingofthefinal outputsbetweenASF-UK,ourpartners andparticipantswhichwillfacilitate furthercollectiveactions.Thisfinal stageintheprocessthenfocuseson producingtheseoutputs collaboratively. Weaimtoco-createoutputsthatcan supportcollectiveactionandadvocacy inthelocalcontext.Theseoutputsvary dependingonthecontextandsituation –sooutputsfromouractivities encompassplanningtools-suchas thecommunityactionplansaswellas participatorydesigntoolsthatour partnerscanutiliseintheiractivities, butalso,materialsandeventsthatcan enhanceourpartners’existing capacitiesformobilisationandaction, inrelationtothefieldsofurbanpolicy andplanning.
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Partnering withwith communities
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ASF-UK’sApproachtoPartnerships
1.Beinganalmostentirelyvoluntary organisation,havingorganisationaland politicalindependencehasbeenessentialin ourabilitytobuildlong-termtrustbetween andwithourpartners.
2.Havingafocusonmutuallearningenablesa partnershiptorespondtochangesinthe energy,personnelorprioritiesofeachpartner, aswellastoexternalfactors.
3.Whilebeingresourceintensive,short-term, typicallyreactivesocio-technicalsupporthas thepotentialtotestanddemonstrateideas anddevelopreplicabletoolsandprocesses,if undertakenaspartofawiderstrategic partnership.
4.Lastly,byunderstandingstrategic partnershipsasaninfrastructureofshort, mediumandlong-termrelationships,wecan seetheimportanceofneedingtobuildand (importantly)tomaintaintrustateachscale.
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1 2 3 4 ASFwillbeforgingpartnershipswith strategicorganisationsandlocal groupsthatseektoimprovelongtermcommunityresilience,giving communitiesthetoolstoadapt, planandacttogetherinthefaceof climatechange.Activitieswiththese partnerscanrangefroma2-5day workshopsto2-yearlong engagements. Whatyoucanexpect Beforestartingaproject,hereare theexamplefirststepswewould undertakewithanypotential partner: INTRODUCTIONS Share,compare anddiscusscore values, organisationaland project-specific ambitions POSITIONING Initialpower mappinganalysis toUnderstand context,identify entrypointand geographical areaoffocus EXPECTATIONS Discuss expectations onfortheshort, mediumandlongtermanddefine anypotential outputsifknown Upfront. ROLES&BRIEF Agreeontime frames, responsibilities anddecision makingprocesses ofpartnersand stakeholders Forexample:Weareinthe processofpartneringwitha thirdsectorinterface organisationinEdinburghto developlocalplaceplansfor NetZerocommunities.
References
DoughnutEconomicsLab(2020)‘The AmsterdamCityDoughnut:atoolfor transformativeaction’
ASF-UK(2021)‘Aboutus’[www.asf-uk.org/ pages/6-about-us]
Raworth,K.(2018)‘DoughnutEconomics:Seven WaystoThinkLikea21st-CenturyEconomist’, RandomHouseBusinessBooks
ScottishGovernment,(2017)‘PlaceStandard: HowGoodIsOurPlace’
Bioregional(2017)‘OnePlanetLivinggoalsand guidanceforcitiesandregions’
SocialLife(2019)‘UnderstandingCorby:ASocial SustainabilityAssessment’
Hamdi,N.(2010)‘ThePlacemakersGuideto CommunityBuilding’,EarthscanRoutledge
Authors
SimhikaRao,TamaraKahn,CharlieWright,
Acknowledgements
SpecialthankstoRowanMackay,Melissa Kinnear,BeatriceDiCarli,LuciaCastor&Sophie Morley
ContactUs
Generalenquiries
Emailusat:info@asf-uk.org
1DingleyPlace
London
EC1V8BR
UnitedKingdom
ReferencingthisGuide
ASF-UK(2021)‘ResiliencebyDesign2021Guide’ ArchitectureSansFrontieres-UKResources
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