Abstract
As urban policy and governance challenges become increasingly complex, inter-disciplinary approaches and participatory methodologies are essential. The evolv-ing role of design affects the way it is practiced in these contexts. Instead of sole-ly providing solutions, designers are now expected to connect, navigate, and fa-cilitate collaboration between stakeholders from different public sector organi-zations. This paper aims to explore how multi-organizational design facilitation can contribute to addressing complex urban challenges, fostering and accelerat-ing adoption of sustainable solutions. We delve into three concepts that under-pin the creative facilitation process: the design mindset, futures thinking and ex-perimental attitude. The context of this study is a big European project in which 12 cities collaborate and experiment aiming to solve specific urban challenges. The paper argues for design facilitation to bridge gaps between diverse stake-holders, encourage co-creation, and facilitate the development of innovative so-lutions across various parties.
Keywords
design facilitation; sustainable transitions; cities
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.500
Citation
Starostka, J., Neuhoff, R., Morelli, N., and Simeone, L. (2024) Navigating complexity: design facilitation for collaborative solutions to urban challenges, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.500
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Navigating complexity: design facilitation for collaborative solutions to urban challenges
As urban policy and governance challenges become increasingly complex, inter-disciplinary approaches and participatory methodologies are essential. The evolv-ing role of design affects the way it is practiced in these contexts. Instead of sole-ly providing solutions, designers are now expected to connect, navigate, and fa-cilitate collaboration between stakeholders from different public sector organi-zations. This paper aims to explore how multi-organizational design facilitation can contribute to addressing complex urban challenges, fostering and accelerat-ing adoption of sustainable solutions. We delve into three concepts that under-pin the creative facilitation process: the design mindset, futures thinking and ex-perimental attitude. The context of this study is a big European project in which 12 cities collaborate and experiment aiming to solve specific urban challenges. The paper argues for design facilitation to bridge gaps between diverse stake-holders, encourage co-creation, and facilitate the development of innovative so-lutions across various parties.