Participatory Neighbourhood Planning for the 'Brown to Green' Transition in Tyneside
Lead Research Organisation:
Northumbria University
Department Name: Fac of Engineering and Environment
Abstract
As agreed with AHRC please see the Case for Support attachment for the full application information
Publications
Jin J
(2023)
lo Squaderno 65: Care and Critical Action
Jin J
(2024)
City Information Modelling
Jin J
(2023)
How Gdansk is reclaiming its industrial waterfront
in The Conversation
Jin W
(2024)
Assessing Industrial Heritage Through Collaborative Counter-Mapping: A Case Study of Salts Mill, UK
in Urban Planning
| Title | Collaborative visualisation based on ArkiCity |
| Description | The app ArkiCity offers a digital platform where citizens can share local knowledge and ideas for enhancing spaces within their communities. This application enables the local residents to participate in shaping their neighbourhoods' transformation, blending bottom-up and top-down approaches. ArkiCity was developed by arki_tools, and shares core values and an innovative approach to citizen involvement in participatory planning. The central concept behind ArkiCity is to highlight critical problems or needed improvements within the city by empowering its citizens, who are the primary users of urban spaces, providing a more efficient and direct insight into urban life. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Our participatory app gathered over 200 images around 'future visions', based on ArkiCity, translating local knowledge into data that reflects the city's conditions through the lens of the citizens. This data has shed light on areas requiring attention. The collaborative creation of these images revolutionises the conventional approach to urban design and development, serving as a conduit between citizens and decision-makers. This process sets the stage for an innovative, visual-based approach to the development of our urban environment-a future characterised by the collaboration of bottom-up and top-down planning, where pixels and participants unite to co-create the urban landscape. |
| Title | RIBA-YAPF Open Lecture: Putting People at the Heart of the Machine |
| Description | This video forms part of the RIBA-YAPF open lectures series for the 2023-24 period, centering on 'Brown to Green Urban Rejuvenation'. Co-chaired by Dr. Jiayi Jin and Prof. Richard Laing, in collaboration with the AHRC project titled "Participatory Neighbourhood Planning for the 'Brown to Green' Transition in Tyneside". This public lecture includes a presentation from Dr Ditte Bendix Lanng, an urban designer and leading expert on sustainable mobilities. Dr Lanng worked at Aalborg University for many years, before moving to NIRAS as a senior consultant. The event is presented as part of the AHRC Project and is in collaboration with the Urban Futures IDRT at Northumbria University. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The lecture attracted a turnout of over 40 attendees on-site and more than 50 participants online. The subsequent upload of the video online has garnered over 100 views. This platform offers viewers valuable insights from world-leading architects and urban planners with extensive experience in project design and delivery in this field. The rapid development of personal transportation and mobility technology can be seen as part of a broader continuum, which includes considerations for smart buildings, infrastructure, cities, and regions. Understanding the significance of these advancements and their impact on users' lives necessitates a collaborative, inclusive, and people-centered approach to design. This approach offered a way to take into account the challenges and barriers that individuals and communities face in their daily lives. The video underscores the importance of viewing people as assets in the design and implementation of new technologies. It encourages a perspective where technology is considered among many solutions available to address current challenges, with a focus on empowering individuals and communities to respond and adapt effectively. |
| URL | https://youtu.be/hYbjQhj3RM8?si=cYTNkXCn5ZS9tJMQ |
| Title | RIBA-YAPF Open Lecture: Sustainability and Placemaking |
| Description | This video is part of the RIBA-YAPF open lectures for the 2023-24 series focusing on the 'Brown to Green Urban Rejuvenation'. It is co-chaired by Dr. Jiayi Jin and Prof. Richard Laing, in collaboration with this AHRC project titled "Participatory Neighbourhood Planning for the 'Brown to Green' Transition in Tyneside". David Gibson, an Architect and Urban Designer at Hawkins\Brown in the Manchester Studio, contributes his expertise in sustainability and placemaking to the discussion. With a wealth of experience across various sectors and scales, Gibson excels in creatively repurposing existing buildings and heritage assets. He is deeply committed to exploring holistic design solutions that not only meet but surpass expectations. The shared experience prioritise social and environmental responsiveness, ultimately enhancing the well-being of the communities they serve. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The lecture attracted over 40 attendees on-site and more than 50 online participants. The subsequent online video upload has garnered over 100 views. This platform provides viewers with valuable insights from world-leading architects and urban planners who possess extensive experience in project design and delivery within this field. The video aids participants in navigating the implementation and adoption of planning regulations, policies, financing, and government initiatives that prioritise people-centric and sustainable regeneration, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). |
| URL | https://youtu.be/PVpd__MEwlA?si=k_8FelQibK0cIpVe |
| Title | RIBA-YAPF Open Lecture: Transiting from Brown to Green |
| Description | This video forms part of the RIBA-YAPF open lectures series for the 2023-24 period, centering on 'Brown to Green Urban Rejuvenation'. Co-chaired by Dr. Jiayi Jin and Prof. Richard Laing, in collaboration with the AHRC project titled "Participatory Neighbourhood Planning for the 'Brown to Green' Transition in Tyneside". Eugene Mullan, a qualified architect, urban designer, and founding director of Smith Scott Mullan Associates in Edinburgh, is featured. His lecture brings a wealth of expertise, particularly in residential design across various tenures, with a focus on designing for older adults and individuals with dementia. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The lecture attracted over 40 attendees on-site and more than 50 online participants. The subsequent online video upload has garnered over 100 views. This platform provides viewers with valuable insights from world-leading architects and urban planners who possess extensive experience in project design and delivery within this field. The video aids participants in navigating the implementation and adoption of planning regulations, policies, financing, and government initiatives that prioritise people-centric and sustainable regeneration, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). |
| URL | https://youtu.be/fKhv1SBB-MQ?si=hx2kSAqGCMltHJNN |
| Description | The initial phase of this project involved piloting a participatory app designed to gather information, thoughts and ideas for coastal neighbourhood planning. The app was designed to be tested with 10 vacant plots on the waterfront of South Tyneside and North Tyneside neighbourhoods, and is actively engaged in neighbourhoods planning under the Government's localism agenda. It allowed participants to create photographs or collage images depicting current conditions and future aspirations, jot down preferences, provide comments and mark boundaries - all of which were automatically tagged to their location within the neighbourhood using Participatory Geographical Information Systems (PGIS) technology. These contributions were then aggregated onto a collective map accessible to the community. The pilot initiative yielded 626 comments and over 120 photographs, demonstrating its efficacy as an invaluable tool for the initial phase of community planning exercises. In the second phase of this project, efforts were concentrated on forging partnerships with local authorities, industrial and community entities and stakeholders, with the aim of charting a transformative course towards the 'Brown to Green' transition along the River Tyne. Collaborating with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Young Architectural Practitioner's Forum (YAPF), we gleaned invaluable insights from architects and urban planners who have extensive experience in project design and execution within this realm. These insights were instrumental in translating research into actionable urban strategies. Through RIBA-YAPF events, the 2nd phase provides guidelines and methods in navigating the implementation and adoption of planning regulations, policies, financing mechanisms, and government initiatives that prioritise people-centric and sustainable regeneration, aligning closely with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the final phase, we embraced a thorough analysis of GIS and satellite imagery data, emphasizing crucial elements like land use and land cover (LULC), brownfield site revitalisation, climate change impacts and regional policies. The findings will contribute to future planning strategies to mitigate investment risks while enabling local communities to integrate diverse values into their complex systems. Through collaborative investment and partnership pathways, the final output unites all essential components for Tyneside's development aligning with waterfront regeneration and local plans. The project had five key findings: 1) Utilising this technique brings participation directly to people, expanding the involvement of local stakeholders in information-gathering exercises without requiring them to attend a particular event; 2) Enabling participants to collect data while walking and discussing in their neighbourhoods for direct recording and commenting, generates richer and more experiential data compared to traditional meeting or workshop settings; 3) The holistic information gathered from diverse participants can inform not only neighbourhoods planning but also other consultation purposes and the prioritisation of local services, this is particularly crucial during budget cuts or shifts towards co-production of community spaces; 4) There's a need for local council to develop an accessible and dynamic platform for long-term public engagement in the social sensing process. Integrating bottom-up participatory data with satellite imagery analysis may offer potential for expansion and scalability using open-source data, with room for further integration of additional sources; finally 5) Through all these participatory sessions and analysis, we found sustainable design must address the intersection of social and environmental issues because they are deeply interconnected. Environmental problems disproportionately affect marginalised communities and exacerbate social inequality, this has been highlighted in the Northeast region. In conclusion, the success of sustainable coastal community transformation depends on the engagement and participation of the people who will live and work in the contextual setting. Thus, participatory planning is an essential element in sustainable development as it relates to how people can be empowered and equipped to make more sustainable choices. The following sustainable design should also take into account both environmental and social factors in order to create solutions that are effective, equitable, and inclusive. We delivered all strands of work that reached key populations including: 1. Co-creation of a participatory app with Omanos Analytics, leveraging Mergin Maps / QGIS technology. 2. Collaborative visual representations of urban futures with inputs from local residents using ArkiCity. 3. Integrating downstream satellite data analysis with local community data sources to generate a multi-layered, map-based dataset on QGIS. 4. Establishment of local partnerships with authorities, industries, community partners and stakeholders to advance the 'Brown to Green' transition along the River Tyne. 5. Continuously integrating data-informed policies into council-wide services. 6. Continuously engaging with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Young Architectural Practitioner's Forum (YAPF) to transform research into urban practice. 7. Submission of academic publications. |
| Exploitation Route | To leverage the outcome of this funding further, three pathways are worth exploring. Firstly, it's crucial to assess the scalability of the data-driven approach. While this study has demonstrated success and suitability at a local scale, expanding the scope in terms of participant numbers, project duration, and area size will inevitably introduce new challenges in data collection, processing, storage, and exchange. Given that planning decision-making processes often require long-term evidence gathering and coordination across various levels of authorities, how to address these challenges during the process is worth exploring. Secondly, the established methods can be adapted to address other planning issues. For instance, many medium and small towns in the UK are grappling with declining slow speed traffic on local high streets. The South Tyneside council's expressed interest in leveraging the results of this project to analyse pedestrian and shopper behaviour on its high streets highlights the potential versatility of these methods. However, accomplishing this goal necessitates a framework that enables commercially driven engagement to collect efficient and insightful local intelligence. Thirdly, while the participatory app has been successfully developed and can be seamlessly integrated into other projects, there's still room for improvement. Enhancements to the interface of the participatory app, data transmission and management can enhance user experience and encourage the collection of more meaningful data. Importantly, the primary takeaway from this project is the workflow of "participatory data - community engagement - planning solutions". This encompasses acquiring high-quality and more frequent local engagement, and it may need more training and support for community data collectors. The targeted outcomes include increased community engagement in planning processes, regeneration projects that reflect the needs of local communities, heightened public satisfaction with projects led by local authorities, and the provision of GIS data products for community-led planning. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Construction Creative Economy Environment Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://hosting.northumbria.ac.uk/brown-to-green/ |
| Description | This project aimed to enhance participatory planning in coastal towns, focusing on transitioning brownfields left by former industrial facilities towards green spaces. Rather than requiring stakeholders to wade through lengthy documents or attend meetings, the project provided accessible tools for continual input, ensuring the voices of local stakeholders were heard without barriers. This approach facilitated the collection of local intelligence, aiding policymakers and planners in decision-making. Engagement was broad, starting with collaboration with local authorities like the North Tyneside and South Tyneside councils. By aligning with local plans such as the 'Refreshed 20-Year Vision for South Tyneside', the project offered insights into citizen expectations regarding brownfield transitions. Geolocation-tagged datasets highlighted existing brownfield statuses and associated challenges, assisting planners in crafting long-term visions, including green space creation and sustainable economic development. Additionally, the project engaged with key stakeholders like the Port of Tyne and industrial partner Omanos Analytics. Alignment with initiatives such as 'Tyne 2050' ensured coherence with long-term regional goals. Working with the port on sustainability, specific insights guided strategies to maintain community connections. Omanos Analytics' expertise in participatory data generation enhanced the project's bottom-up approach, resulting in an adaptable app and informing social value assessment tools and inclusive planning strategies. Research findings were disseminated through workshops and events, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. For example, workshops with Newcastle and Gateshead Councils, AHRC Future Observatory Forum, and local RIBA-YAPF events facilitated discussions on brownfield transition design challenges, emphasising culture-driven, sustainable, mixed-use, and livable approaches. Overall, this project exemplifies a collaborative, inclusive approach to coastal town planning, integrating local expertise and innovative tools to drive sustainable urban regeneration. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | Policy advising at Newcastle Plan Workshop |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The discussion highlights various successful applications of effective public engagement in urban planning within the region, offering models for political and civic participation essential for a successful transition to Newcastle New Local Plan (2045). We underscore that achieving this transition entails not only public support through voting but also active involvement in shaping policies and plans, along with opportunities to engage the public in urban development. This is particularly important for residents in deprived areas in the Northeast, who may need additional support to enhance their capacity and capability for meaningful engagement, sharing their perspectives, experiences, and activities. |
| Description | Policy briefing at the local event "What Makes a Good Tyneside?" |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | This AHRC project acknowledges the vital role of community empowerment, engagement, and action in facilitating the transition, with a focus on leveraging local knowledge as a central strategy. The conducted activities align with the theme of this regional workshop, leveraging data science to enhance participatory data types, accelerate data processing and analysis, and optimise data management. This approach helped the local councils to develop the most accessible digital strategies that integrate local intelligence and digital infrastructure with established urban planning principles to address the local challenges and risks faced by the Tyneside area, especially with the brownfield sites. |
| Description | Royal Institute of British Architects - The Young Architectural Practitioner's Forum |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The collaboration with the Royal Institute of British Architects assisted participants, including young architectural practitioners and students, in understanding and navigating the implementation and adoption of planning regulations, policies, financing, and government initiatives. The shared experience on the Brown to Green transition prioritises people-centric and sustainable regeneration, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). |
| URL | https://www.architecture.com/whats-on/young-architectural-practitioners-forum-skills-for-success-202... |
| Description | Written Evidence (TGB0034): Grey Belt in England - Insights from a multi-lens analysis |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | In the written evidence report, we argue that local authorities should work together to develop a cohesive plan that considers a multi-lens covering ecological, social, morphological and material, as well as the regional growth patterns and infrastructure requirements, this will involve joint planning initiatives, shared data, and aligned policies. Key strategies for effective Grey Belt development include utilising regional planning bodies to ensure comprehensive and consistent plans, establishing joint committees or forums for collaboration, engaging the public to address community concerns and garner support, and sharing data on land use, population growth, and infrastructure capacity to create accurate and effective plans. |
| URL | https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/130956/pdf/ |
| Description | IDRT Seed Corn Fund |
| Amount | £7,054 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Northumbria University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | Navigating Urban Ecologies: Mapping The Habitation Patterns And Socio-ecological Dynamics Of Kittiwakes Along The River Tyne |
| Amount | £128,056 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | UKRI271 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2025 |
| End | 01/2026 |
| Title | Participatory Datasets from Mergin Maps |
| Description | The dataset collected from Mergin Maps includes contributions from both offline and online communities, providing a mix of quantitative and qualitative data that enriches the local planning knowledge and forms a multi-layered GIS dataset. This geolocation-tagged data encompasses travel patterns, personal narratives, emotions, and photographs capturing spatial features of waterfront, brownfields and neighborhoods. This process of gathering knowledge enables the research team to gain insights into how residents navigate their surroundings. The outputs are utilised in co-design sessions to foster open dialogue among planning authorities, urban designers, academics, and citizens. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The dataset served as valuable information for the community and stakeholders involved in the co-design sessions. It facilitated increased levels of community empowerment and paved the way for potential community-led design initiatives. Additionally, it aided in the development of Local Plans to ensure the adoption of project outcomes beyond the scope of the research. A fundamental principle of co-design is that users, viewed as experts of their own experiences, play a central role in the design process. This approach surpasses mere consultation by fostering equal collaboration between citizens impacted by, or seeking to address, a specific challenge in the neighborhoods of South Tyneside and North Tyneside. It involves integrating various forms of available knowledge, leveraging implicit and tacit knowledge, and making them both accessible to planning processes in a meaningful manner. |
| Description | Active engagement with South Tyneside Council and North Tyneside Council |
| Organisation | North Tyneside Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Facilitating the establishment of connections and coordination of meetings to forge partnerships. The research team leverages cutting-edge expertise and skills in post-industrial community studies. Building upon our established network, rooted in the Research Associate's prior projects (CEoN, British Academy, SSF/210084) with key local stakeholders, we strive to generate high-quality joint research outcomes with two local councils. This study has contributed to the development of new social value assessment tools and best practice guides for planning historic post-industrial territories. By fostering a multi-perspective approach, it has enabled the conceptualisation of citizens' initiatives and ensured alignment between initiators and local/regional governments. Additionally, it has enhanced the inclusivity and equity of planning strategies and interventions in the region. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project aligns well with the local plans of the local councils: the 'Refreshed 20-Year Vision for South Tyneside' commenced in 2023 was anchored in core ambitions: ensuring financial security for South Tyneside residents, promoting lifelong health and wellness, fostering connectivity to employment, skills, and education, and cultivating strong community ties. Additionally, the council aims to prioritise fairness by directing support and resources towards borough residents through collaborative planning efforts (Binding, 2022). Likewise, the latest North Tyneside council plan places particular emphasis on establishing a network of green spaces, fostering a sustainable economy, enhancing infrastructure and transportation, and implementing mechanisms for increased participation and human capital development. Both councils have been actively involved in the design and development of the project and engagement workshops, offering feedback in response to the local knowledge. |
| Impact | The research actively engages in ongoing policy developments in partnership with the NTCA (North of Tyne Combined Authority) Data and Insights team. It facilitates the formation of a sustainable network of expertise, establishes a strong case study for sustainable and inclusive transition, and serves as a cornerstone in guiding evidence-based policymaking within the NTCA. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Active engagement with South Tyneside Council and North Tyneside Council |
| Organisation | South Tyneside Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Facilitating the establishment of connections and coordination of meetings to forge partnerships. The research team leverages cutting-edge expertise and skills in post-industrial community studies. Building upon our established network, rooted in the Research Associate's prior projects (CEoN, British Academy, SSF/210084) with key local stakeholders, we strive to generate high-quality joint research outcomes with two local councils. This study has contributed to the development of new social value assessment tools and best practice guides for planning historic post-industrial territories. By fostering a multi-perspective approach, it has enabled the conceptualisation of citizens' initiatives and ensured alignment between initiators and local/regional governments. Additionally, it has enhanced the inclusivity and equity of planning strategies and interventions in the region. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project aligns well with the local plans of the local councils: the 'Refreshed 20-Year Vision for South Tyneside' commenced in 2023 was anchored in core ambitions: ensuring financial security for South Tyneside residents, promoting lifelong health and wellness, fostering connectivity to employment, skills, and education, and cultivating strong community ties. Additionally, the council aims to prioritise fairness by directing support and resources towards borough residents through collaborative planning efforts (Binding, 2022). Likewise, the latest North Tyneside council plan places particular emphasis on establishing a network of green spaces, fostering a sustainable economy, enhancing infrastructure and transportation, and implementing mechanisms for increased participation and human capital development. Both councils have been actively involved in the design and development of the project and engagement workshops, offering feedback in response to the local knowledge. |
| Impact | The research actively engages in ongoing policy developments in partnership with the NTCA (North of Tyne Combined Authority) Data and Insights team. It facilitates the formation of a sustainable network of expertise, establishes a strong case study for sustainable and inclusive transition, and serves as a cornerstone in guiding evidence-based policymaking within the NTCA. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Neighbourhood transformation informed by the Port of Tyne |
| Organisation | Port Of Tyne Authority |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Facilitating the establishment of connections and coordination of meetings to forge partnerships. Actively delving into and analysing the vision document "Tyne 2050", published by the Port of Tyne authority, and ensuring alignment between the research project and the goals outlined in the document. Engaging with pertinent environmental and sustainability stakeholders within the port organisation, inviting their valuable insights and suggestions to enhance the real-world application of the research project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Port of Tyne serves as a gateway for driving transformation in both the region and the maritime sector. Fully aligned with the Government's Maritime 2050 strategy and the North East Economic Plan, the authority has actively contributed to these initiatives. The Head of Sustainability has actively participated in project meetings and events, collaborated to co-design potential solutions aimed at revitalising urban infrastructure and repurposing post-industrial landmarks to address environmental, social, and economic challenges of the region. |
| Impact | Conducted workshops aimed at co-designing future scenarios for the area surrounding the Port of Tyne, envisioning a shift away from its mono-functional economic structure and reimagining its post-industrial landscape. These efforts highlight significant potential for urban innovation and community empowerment, particularly within the framework of the ongoing urban transformation plan - Tyne 2050. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Title | Participatory app for Brown to Green transition |
| Description | The software is compatible with mobile devices running both iOS and Android operating systems. Users can register an account and apply to join this specific project. Once their application is approved by the administrator, users can contribute to data collection using the app. The app supports the creation of geo-tagged data in various formats, including text, images, binary, and numerical data. Users can also edit the data at a later time to add more detailed information. Additionally, users can view data created by other users to create an enduring conversation in between. All collected data is aggregated in the backend to form a GIS database, which can be seamlessly processed by desktop software such as QGIS for further analysis. |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | With three community engagement events, we've gathered more than 500 data entries around 10 distinct vacant plots in the two coastal towns. This data encompasses various aspects, including current functionality, human behaviour, psychological perceptions, and expectations regarding future planning scenarios during the transition from Brown to Green. The compiled dataset holds significant potential for long-term impact on participatory planning in the region. Addressing the growing needs of contemporary society, proposed interventions which prioritise enhancing multi-functionality, in the meanwhile, taking into account industrial heritage and fostering public participation from the project's inception, thereby promoting long-term sustainability and adaptable transformation. |
| Description | AHRC Future Observatory Research Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This annual event unfolded with a series of panel discussions and Q&A sessions led by members of the AHRC Future Observatory and Design Museum teams. The first panel sparked a lively discussion on community engagement and the active involvement of citizen researchers. Subsequent conversations delved into the challenges of entering the circular economy and ignited debates regarding the role of AI and technology in research. In between panel discussions, attendees had the opportunity to view the newly opened Future Observatory display. Showcasing a range of projects within and beyond the Future Observatory portfolio, the display prompted thought-provoking conversations about the public communication of design research and its potential impact of costal communities' research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://futureobservatory.org/news/learning-from-each-other |
| Description | ESRC Smart Data Research UK: Smart Data Research, Policy and Practice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The organised ESRC dialogue offers an opportunity to hear some of the findings from the Open Innovation Team's recent Rapid Review commissioned for the SDR UK programme, exploring policy demand and opportunities in relation to Smart Data in the UK. In addition, it delivers a brief introduction to the work of the ESRC's Public Policy and Engagement Team, including a highlighted selection of the activities it funds to strengthen the relationships between research and policy communities in order to support effective evidence-based public policy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| URL | https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/browse-our-areas-of-investment-and-support/smart-data-research-uk/ |
| Description | Engagement workshops with the participatory app |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A total of 57 individuals participated in three workshops. These sessions included guided walk tours facilitated by the app, providing a platform for participants to freely express their opinions. Attendees actively communicated their visions for improving their neighbourhoods, utilising the app to capture photos, respond to questions, or create collages to share enhancement ideas. These contributions are aggregated and organized on the platform, fostering collaborative interaction and the further development of ideas. Focusing on six essential aspects - living, working, grocery shopping, education, healthcare, and self-development within local neighborhoods - the team has led a series of cross-disciplinary creative workshops. These workshops aim to gather meaningful local intelligence regarding the green transition, incorporating social and ecological perspectives. This iterative process allows for experimentation, demonstration, refinement, and ultimately the identification of practical solutions tailored to the unique waterfront planning and design needs of the involved entities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://hosting.northumbria.ac.uk/brown-to-green/ |
| Description | Intergenerational Connection: Bridging Time, Place and Engagement in Public Space |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Organised by The Architecture and Urbanism Research Group at the University of Leeds, the panel centers on exploring the interaction between individuals and the expansion of public spaces, emphasising the importance of intergenerational contact in design and functionality. It poses questions on how temporal and spatial interventions can foster intergenerational contact and social cohesion. This event serves as an interdisciplinary platform, bringing together experts from academia and practice to exchange findings and experiences. Topics of discussion include building intergenerational cohesion, maximising the potential of public space usage, and investigating urban collaboration and time-space use to understand human behaviour. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | RGS-IBG 2024 Annual International Conference: Testing the Waters- Participatory Approaches for Coastal Resilience |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The session is coordinated by Dr. Katharine Willis and Ashita Gupta from the University of Plymouth, along with Dr. Carolina Vasilikou from the Manchester School of Architecture and Dr. Judita Vivas from DEP Zero Margate. It draws inspiration from the AHRC Design Exchange Partnership 2023 (Coastal Communities), serving as a collaborative workshop focusing on participatory approaches to bolstering the resilience of coastal environments. Informed by urban design typology and the artistic practice of collaging, the workshop delves into the interface between land and sea, offering a hands-on experience. Employing not only verbal but also creative and visual modes of contribution, the workshop's engagement methodology aims to tackle the challenges of working with coastal communities by empowering participants to engage as equals in a bottom-up knowledge exchange. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |