David Barrie: 'Open source' place-making

[Karl Dubost]

In David Barrie: 'Open source' place-making
At http://davidbarrie.typepad.com/david_barrie/2010/11/open-source-place-making.html

        How to deliver a Big Society - a place that acts
        as a catalyst to and inspires grassroots local
        activism - in the most bureaucratic, statist and
        controlled public space of them all: the built
        environment?
        Here's one answer: 'open source' place-making.
        This is an approach to urban development that
        centres on the making of an implementable 'social
        action plan' first - not a master plan - is
        inspired by the autonomy that many people want
        from their lives and seeks to create places
        through an unfolding process of interaction design
        first, architecture second.

--
Karl Dubost
Montréal, QC, Canada
http://www.la-grange.net/karl/

[Tracey P. Lauriault]

So Cool Karl!

It is interesting to see old concepts & methods being re-branded to speak to new communities.  In my world this is called participatory planning, group design charettes, or participatory mapping (http://zunia.org/post/participatory-3d-modelling-for-intangible-cultural-heritage-preservation-in-ethiopia/; http://participatorygis.blogspot.com/2009/06/map-symbols-and-coding-means.html).  Interesting how many have been great at exporting this process to developing countries but not so great at implementing those practices here.

In the Netherlands, most social housing projects are designed by committees of those who will live in them and a committee of dedicated women who know how to design for maximum utility and great functionality.  I live in a housing coop built in the late 70s by a group of people who chose to co-design with an architect who designed based on a pattern language, and about 95% of all the 36 units are perfect in their design and in their lighting. It is also one of the most successful coops in Ottawa because of the space but mostly because of the membership, the people who live there, who are of mixed income with 30% of the population in rent assisted housing.  It is downtown affordable family living.  The membership then have to do everything in terms of maintenance, finance, membership, landscaping, etc.  It is not always easy, but it sure is interesting.

Cheers
t

On Sat, Nov 6, 2010 at 7:24 AM, Karl Dubost <[hidden email]> wrote:

In David Barrie: 'Open source' place-making
At http://davidbarrie.typepad.com/david_barrie/2010/11/open-source-place-making.html

       How to deliver a Big Society - a place that acts
       as a catalyst to and inspires grassroots local
       activism - in the most bureaucratic, statist and
       controlled public space of them all: the built
       environment?
       Here's one answer: 'open source' place-making.
       This is an approach to urban development that
       centres on the making of an implementable 'social
       action plan' first - not a master plan - is
       inspired by the autonomy that many people want
       from their lives and seeks to create places
       through an unfolding process of interaction design
       first, architecture second.

--
Karl Dubost
Montréal, QC, Canada
http://www.la-grange.net/karl/

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Tracey P. Lauriault
613-234-2805