ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN DESIGN RATIONALE Design does not occur in isolation. It impacts many different groups of people and so should incorporate their voices. In order to fully comprehend the issues at hand, we need to engage with community members and work together to solve problems. This process empowers participants, forms relationships across different groups and builds ownership of a space.
MAIN TAKE AWAYS The literature for this theme provided insights on how to successfully engage communities, including developing strategies for communicating; listening to understand the concerns, goals, and resources of the community; and identifying what changes are needed.
Zhehao Huang
Randolph Hester describes the role of landscape architects in community design, writing, “We can point out landscape resources previously untapped. We can show how to use those resources in ways that benefit the community members most in need. We can strike a balance between consumption and conservation so that resources sustain the community over time.” Shaping space is one of many skills that landscape architects possess. We work with communities, educating them on how to care for a space and raising awareness of critical issues such as stormwater management.1 1 Hester, Randolph T., Jr. 1987. “Community Design: Making the Grassroots Whole”. Built Environment. Vol. 13, No. 1, Community Architecture, p. 60.
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UW MLA Capstone Studio 2016
Chih-Ping Chen