DIY networking as a facilitator for interdisciplinary research on the hybrid city

DIY networking is a technology with special characteristics compared to the public Internet, which holds a unique potential for empowering citizens to shape their hybrid urban space toward conviviality and collective awareness. It can also play the role of a “boundary object” for facilitating interdisciplinary interactions and participatory processes between different actors: researchers, engineers, practitioners, artists, designers, local authorities, and activists. This position paper presents a social learning framework, the DIY networking paradigm, that we aim to put in the centre of the hybrid space design process. We first introduce our individual views on the role of design as discussed in the fields of engineering, urban planning, urban interaction design, design research, and community informatics. We then introduce a simple methodology for combining these diverse perspectives into a meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration, through a series of related events with different structure and framing. We conclude with a short summary of a selection of these events, which serves also as an introduction to the CONTACT workshop on facilitating information sharing between strangers, in the context of the Hybrid City III conference

D3.7 An interdisciplinary framework for comparisons and cross-fertilization strategies of MAZI pilots (version 3)

[Executive summary] The object of this deliverable is to present the final reflection on the framework developed and applied within MAZI that allows and supports the interdisciplinary development of four different MAZI pilot studies and the cross-pilot generation of insights and knowledge as well as the transfer of this knowledge into the design of the MAZI toolkit. For this, this report will first reflect on the very idea of a framework as an evolving concept – as an ever-changing notion that continuously develops as the consortium is moving along – and summarize the components of the framework as developed and enacted throughout the past 28 months. We will then take a step back to synthesize reflections on the different positions and roles taken on by project members and on how the interdisciplinary nature of MAZI manifests itself within and across pilot studies – both in terms of challenges and strategies in dealing with them, as well as in reflections on how the project affects the disciplinary positions of its protagonists. Concluding this deliverable, we will then discuss the framework depicted in the series of three reports as a negotiated outcome of the working process in MAZI and show how the threads woven here will be taken up and continued in future work

Power, roles and adding value: reflecting on the challenges of bridging across research and action on an international community networking project

The three year EU-funded MAZI research project (www.mazizone.eu) brought together universities, civil society organizations, and neighbourhood groups to design, develop and trial a digital toolkit for supporting local sustainability in four European countries. Funder constraints, partner ambitions and community needs had to be balanced to both adhere to academic research protocols while making a difference in the neighbourhoods where research and action took place. These sometimes conflicting ambitions caused partners to continuously question whose agendas were best being served by the project activities. They had to confront asymmetries of power, capacity, and credibility both within the consortium and within the community settings. Local circumstances changed; partners had to negotiate new, unfamiliar, and changing roles; and guises had to be adopted to progress sometimes conflicting ambitions. In this paper, we report on the challenges encountered in two of the pilot locations, Berlin and London. These two pilots were similar as they consisted at the outset of a university partner previously unconnected to the locality, working with a civil society partner that was deeply embedded in the setting though long-term engagement. In both cases, the pairings sought to work closely together both on the ground and in research tasks. Finding acceptable compromises stimulated considerable self-reflection and required ongoing negotiation. We offer insights on the potentials and pitfalls of civil society activists and academic researchers collaborating within a research framework from the perspectives of both, with the goal of building a bridge of understanding between these two viewpoints

D2.1 Design, progress and evaluation of the Prinzessinnengarten pilot (version 1)

The objective of this deliverable is to report on the design, progress and evaluation of the MAZI pilot conducted in Berlin by the Design Research Lab of Berlin University of the Arts and Common Grounds e.V.The report first provides an outline to the context, the design approaches and the main actors. The section thus describes the departure point, from which the team initially started to develop the pilot project.Following this, a detailed description of the progress is being delivered. For this, an updated description of the pilots circumstances and context is being provided, followed by an overview about implications of these updates to the pilot plan. The section then proceeds to describe the design process as conducted in the reporting phase.The report then concludes with an evaluation of this progress, for which the first deployment of the prototype is being reflected and further steps in its development are indicated. The section also describes a set of learnings, questions and challenges, that emerged from the pilot process and appear relevant for the project at large

Maker Movements, Do-It-Yourself Cultures and Participatory Design: Implications for HCI Research

Falling costs and the wider availability of computational components, platforms and ecosystems have enabled the expansion of maker movements and DIY cultures. This can be considered as a form of democratization of technology systems design, in alignment with the aims of Participatory Design approaches. However, this landscape is constantly evolving, and long-term implications for the HCI community are far from clear. The organizers of this one-day workshop invite participants to present their case studies, experiences and perspectives on the topic with the goal of increasing understanding within this area of research. The outcomes of the workshop will include the articulation of future research directions with the purpose of informing a research agenda, as well as the establishment of new collaborations and networks

D3.6 - An interdisciplinary framework for comparisons and cross-fertilization strategies of MAZI pilots (version2)

[Executive summary] The 1st version of this deliverable focused on framing and carrying out exercises of self-reflection across all MAZI pilots, which aimed to gather comparable knowledge of the respective partner‘s visions and anticipation of the pilot activities. This allowed us to draw comparisons that proved valuable as a starting point for the cross-fertilisation events, in which multiple partners met with the goal to work on the interdisciplinary aspects of MAZI as a project. In this second version, we make one step further toward four directions: a) we analyze the material included in D3.2 and D3.5 in light of further developments and interactions toward comparing the individual perspectives of partners on key concepts such as DIY networking, as well as the different pilot studies; b) we describe and analyse the cross-fertilization events that took place during the first year and the initial lessons learned from the pilots; c) we try to capture the similarities and differences between the disciplinary perspectives of the academic partners; and d) we identify important tensions between research and action as they have manifested during the crossfertilization events of the first year. Based on this material, we propose certain enhancements of our interdisciplinary framework, i.e., the deconstruction of the pilot studies into their core elements, the placement of MAZI toolkit as a boundary object between different subsets of actors in MAZI, and two self-reflection exercises to be carried out in the following months and to be documented in the Deliverable D3.11

D3.8 Comparative evaluation of the MAZI pilots (version 1)

This deliverable is the first of three reporting on the MAZI pilots’ comparative evaluation. We report on progress towards developing a comparative evaluation approach that will draw from the four MAZI pilots to inform the project, to understand progress and enable lessons learned to be applied across MAZI and beyond.In this report we introduce our approach to a comparative meta evaluation strategy in the context of MAZI, taking into account the rich diversity of the consortium partners, their wide range of disciplines, and the different contexts of the pilots. Given this diversity, we emphasise a participatory approach to evaluation, drawing from partners’ academic disciplines and practitioner fields to inform the development of an evaluation framework. Each partner brings with them their own paradigms and methodologies for analysing progress, and a ‘one size fits all’ approach to evaluation applied to all pilots risks losing the richness each has to offer. Therefore, we have found it necessary to begin the process through negotiating a set of high level, lightweight instruments that can initially engage each pilot team in the activity, and elicit data while enabling the reporting of local diversity.We briefly describe the diversity of contexts, then introduce our participatory approach to engaging with partners. We introduce the first set of tools used to gather data and report on initial data gathered from the two pilots that are underway, Nachbarschafts-Akademie / Neighbourhood Academy (NAk, Berlin) and CreekNet (London).We conclude by outlining the coverage of the second version of this deliverable (D3.9, to be reported in M26) and the third version (D3.10, to be reported in M36)

Perspectives on socially and politically oriented practices in design

This document is a report on the structured discussion workshop at the EAD 2017 Design for Next (Society) conference in Rome, Italy. The workshop was hosted by Bianca Herlo and Andreas Unteidig from the Berlin University of the Arts and joined by İdil Gaziulusoy from Aalto University and Wolfgang Jonas from the University of Braunschweig.Peer reviewe

Eco-Social Innovation by Design - Exploring Potential Contributions to Sustainability Transitions in an International PhD and a Master´s Degree Progamme

Contributions from the design disciplines toward sustainable development (UN, 2005) often aim to use less harmful materials, adopt more efficient processes, improve construction principles, or align individual behavior. However, designers also contribute to sustainable development by shaping the framework conditions for social innovation practices (Manzini, 2005), navigating between academic disciplines, professional methods, and cultural conventions in all four orders of design (Buchanan, 2001): From graphics and products to interactions and systems. These interventions might be cocreated visions for desirable futures, policymaking and regulation, goods and services, community activism or grassroots innovations, to educational experiences