How do you engage with the local community and stakeholders in your urban design process?

Studying the context in urban design is a key step that helps to better understand the characteristics, needs and challenges of an area. Using maps to identify geographic features, such as topography, regional climate, and natural resources. Examining the types of existing uses and identifying their distribution patterns. Studying the history of the region and its developments over time. Analysis of culture, customs, and logical identity that can influence the design. Check demographic composition including age, gender, income level and education. Conducting surveys and interviews to identify the social need and opinions of residents.

Early engagement: Start early in the design process for maximum impact. Active listening: Understand the importance of understanding community needs and concerns. Varied methods: Adapt your engagement to diverse groups ad likely preferences. Celebrate & address: Inevitably you will receive positive and negative comments. Highlight both positive ideas and address concerns directly. Trust & ownership: Foster a collaborative and inclusive process. Better designs: Stress to your local community and stakeholders the value of their input and ultimate benefit of effective engagement.

Engaging with the local community and stakeholders in the urban design process involves encouraging open communication and collaboration from the outset. This can be achieved through workshops, public consultations, and interactive platforms that allow residents to voice their needs and ideas. Involving stakeholders in co-design sessions and providing transparent updates ensures their active participation and builds trust. By integrating local insights and cultural context into the design, the result is a more inclusive and responsive urban space that reflects the community's values and aspirations.

Look for patterns. Understanding the history in academic terms is different from understanding it in an architectural sense. Places have rhythms, grains, contours. Good architecture walks in step with these so draw them out during your analysis

Have you ever heard of a simple technique called the “ hanging of dreams ”? In a public meeting, the urban planner passes a cord between two trees, signs or posts, as if you were going to hang a clothes line. Have clothespins and colored paper/pens available. The activity consists of asking the residents what they want in that place. Man, the result is incredible. You'll read everything from “a water slide” to “feeling safe”. It's amazing!

The vision and goals for an urban project should not only focus on the physical aspects of the built environment but also take into consideration the social, cultural, and environmental dimensions. Remember to continually involve the community and stakeholders throughout the design and implementation phases, seeking feedback and adjusting plans accordingly. Collaboration and inclusivity are key to creating successful, sustainable, and socially vibrant urban spaces!!

We have to be careful with this part: I've already been through some very embarrassing situations involving (upper-class) urban planning master's students trying to engage a poor community with good European methods of popular feedback. The community ended up hiding in their shacks ashamed of the students.

But cooking is not just about following a recipe. It is also about being creative, flexible and adaptive. Sometimes, a chef may need to improvise with what they have, or adjust the taste according to the preferences of the customers. Similarly, an urban designer may need to adapt to the changing needs and expectations of the people who live and work in the city, or respond to the challenges and opportunities that arise along the way.

We bring our designs to life with Virtual Reality walkthroughs to get feedback on our design proposals. It’s a game changer to walk through the place you are creating in a fully immersive experience.

This is worth every drop of sweat: this is where we sell the fish to non-technical people, or find the problems. In a project to revitalize an avenue, we set up a big screen in the street and invited people to watch a video of the 3d rendering of the project so they could better understand what was going to happen there. I recommend this experience!

Collaborating with local organizations, businesses, and government agencies builds relationships and aligns project goals with community interests. Design charrettes encourage participants to work together on design concepts, promoting a sense of ownership in the outcomes. Utilizing social media and online platforms can broaden outreach and facilitate ongoing conversations about urban design initiatives.

The natural monitoring I perceive of the population's control concerns the complaints that reach City Hall: they are very efficient at it. I think that good control on the part of management is that which corrects faults BEFORE the complaints arrive...

O envolvimento da popula??o é primordial para o sucesso de qualquer projeto urbano, desta forma é imprescindível a organiza??o de reuni?es abertas para toda a comunidade, onde os moradores possam expressar suas opini?es, preocupa??es e sugest?es sobre as propostas para o local. A incorpora??o de elementos da história local no?design?urbano proporciona uma conex?o mais profunda com a comunidade e ajuda a preservar a identidade cultural. Desta forma, os condutores dos projetos?precisam estar abertos ao?feedback?continuo e disposto a ajustar o?design?com base nas contribui??es da comunidade.

Including leaders in the process makes everything easier. It could be a leader from the neighborhood, church, soccer team or even politics. It's easier for a change project to be accepted if someone outside the technical aspect influences acceptance

onducting community tours and site visits helps visualize changes and gather feedback in context, enhancing stakeholders' understanding of the design's impact.