Collaborative potential: designing coexistence in urban context

Abstract

In this paper we discuss insights, observations and concepts derived from a case study: StreetLab, a co-design project on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that was performed in a socially challenged neighbourhood in Berlin, Germany.

A series of workshops was conducted with children and young teenagers exploring their perspectives on future communication technology. The study raised insights into general potential and challenges of cultural diversity in the context of hybrid spatialities and specifically into how such workshops inspire an interactive process on future design ideas.

TheStreetLab was set up as a living lab infrastructure in a public space and created a platform inviting different interest groups like young people from the neighbourhood, governmental organizations, the team of design researchers and social scientists, as well as an industry partner. Based on Action Research, Grounded Theory and Participatory Design, we held playful workshops on experimental use of ICT with more than 100 children from 10 different nationalities. Through the StreetLab workshops we learned about cultural differences in the children’s approach to ICT, about a social gap when not having access to today’s technologies, and about the curiosity and creative potential of children as designers of future innovations.

A major aim of this paper is to push further aspects of diversity and social sustainability into the design research process, trying to understand the differences in gender, culture, and social challenges when thinking about innovative technologies – seeing them as a general enrichment rather than constraint.

In this paper we will discuss different aspects of “designing coexistence”, of which we mainly focus on participatory design research approaches and their potential for general social interaction.