Towards a scenario-based approach to participatory design

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Scenario-based community design enables designers and community members to work together to address uncertainty in future community growth and develop a range of alternative design solutions to envision and plan for possible future conditions. This essay traces the history of scenario-based design practice and attempts to understand its application to community design from a socio-technical perspective, which sees community design as both spatial inquiry and communicative action. The essay discusses the three fundamental components that enable the implementation of scenario-based design. These three components can be best understood from the three common perspectives of design: 1) evaluation: design as an iterative feedback loop; 2) visualization: design as spatial thinking; 3) collaboration: design as a participatory process. This essay then discusses two projects and demonstrates the key steps to implement these scenario analysis methods, including visioning, compiling data, and conducting community design workshops.

KEYWORDS: scenario planning, participatory design, citizen participation, community design, geographic information system