Abstract
This paper examines how aesthetics can foster inclusion in everyday urban infrastructures, using recycling rooms in residential areas as a case study. Drawing on a design ethnographic study of 27 municipal recycling facilities, three interconnected dimensions – access aesthetics, communicative aesthetics, and spatial aesthetics – were identified. Environments that are neglected, dark, and smelly tend to exclude residents, while those designed with aesthetic considerations foster a sense of shared responsibility and well-being. By linking perceptions of aesthetics in recycling rooms to broader debates in universal design, this paper highlights how aesthetic qualities influence participation, social connection, and environmental practices. These findings contribute to the theoretical and practical agenda of inclusive design, positioning aesthetics as a dimension for more sustainable everyday recycling environments.
Keywords
inclusive design, universal design, recycling facilities, aesthetics, design ethnography
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1399
Citation
Fagerholm, A., Haller, H., Warell, A., and Hedvall, P. (2026) Aesthetics as a Driver for Inclusion: What Recycling Rooms Reveal About Participation in Everyday Society, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1399
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Aesthetics as a Driver for Inclusion: What Recycling Rooms Reveal About Participation in Everyday Society
This paper examines how aesthetics can foster inclusion in everyday urban infrastructures, using recycling rooms in residential areas as a case study. Drawing on a design ethnographic study of 27 municipal recycling facilities, three interconnected dimensions – access aesthetics, communicative aesthetics, and spatial aesthetics – were identified. Environments that are neglected, dark, and smelly tend to exclude residents, while those designed with aesthetic considerations foster a sense of shared responsibility and well-being. By linking perceptions of aesthetics in recycling rooms to broader debates in universal design, this paper highlights how aesthetic qualities influence participation, social connection, and environmental practices. These findings contribute to the theoretical and practical agenda of inclusive design, positioning aesthetics as a dimension for more sustainable everyday recycling environments.