The Un-Habitat or the United Nations agency for human settlements and sustainable urban development, whose primary focus is to deal with the challenges of rapid urbanization, has been developing innovative approaches in the urban design field, centered on the active participation of the community. ArchDaily has teamed up with UN-Habitat to bring you weekly news, article, and interviews that highlight this work, with content straight from the source, developed by our editors.
Discover in this feature the first lesson to learn from UN-Habitat, on how to design with and for the people. In order to create great public spaces, the only secret is listening to the community. Questioning “how can we design together”, this article presents cases in Ghana, Brazil, and India, focusing on street, market, and open public spaces implementation projects, where interventions took on participatory approaches and involved local residents from the beginning of the process.
Hoping that these experiences will encourage others to step up and follow the same path, all 3 approaches were based on community engagement, capacity building, and infrastructure change strategies. Supported by Block by Block, an NGO initiated by the creators of Minecraft, Mojang, and Microsoft, the initiative funds public space projects worldwide, mobilizing communities and influencing policy in the process.
The case of Accra, Ghana
Child Play Spaces in Malata & Nima Markets
As public markets in Ghana are packed with female vendors, children of these women spend, up to 10 hours a day in formal/ informal spaces. Hanging around their mothers, these toddlers end up having not so common experiences for kids their age (from zero to five). Alone or in groups, they are lingering in hazardous areas, and not child-friendly environments.
Mallam Atta (Malata) and Nima are two of the biggest markets in Accra, with large numbers of young children roaming around. With the participation of the vendor community and local authority, UN-habitat, in collaboration with Mmofra Foundation and Health Bridge, tackled this growing concern, and implemented in both these public markets, the first test for early childhood micro-play spaces. Knowing that at this critical age, “stimulation […] has a direct impact on the development of the brain”, the project entitled Child Play Spaces put in place both children friendly and educational spaces.
Consisting of rented stalls for individual use, the markets in Accra are a composition of temporarily repurposed structures. The packed space, the main constraint, required creative approaches and adaptable interventions. Starting off with a participatory design workshop, first schemes were drafted using the popular computer game Minecraft, a simple interface that allows anyone to express their desires. In fact, 23 community members participated, raising issues affecting the market and proposing solutions. Making sure that girls and market women participated in the design and implementation, the project’s team held 61 meetings with approx. 114 participants.
With limited means, the project achieved its purpose and generated safe play spaces for the children of market vendors. For Mallam Atta Market, the installations implemented vertical surfaces for 3-dimensional play; multiple-use seating and climbing units; and interactive art installations on walls and ceilings for visual stimulation. It accommodated 50 vendors & was accessible to 200 regular child users per week. On another hand, for Nima Market, the interventions created writing and drawing surfaces; interactive local games; wire mesh demarcation of the play area; micro-library units made from recycled tires; and colorful “play boxes” amongst others. It accommodated 12 vendors & was accessible to 100 plus child users per week.
The case of São Paulo, Brazil
Mind the Step - Jardim Nakamura
Staircases, often neglected and forgotten are an important part of our public spaces. Turning into unpleasant places in most cases, they are an essential element of the pedestrian mobility network. Often, in marginalized communities, they are also the only areas left for the public, the only “breather” for neighborhoods. Jardim Nakamura, in the southern periphery of São Paulo, Brazil, 1.5h far by public transport to the city center, has a lack of public services and high crime rates. Home to a vulnerable and low-income community, people in this neighborhood commute by foot to go to their jobs.
Addressing this matter, UN-Habitat, in collaboration with Cidade Ativa (Active City) and Health Bridge, has transformed a staircase located at Rua Agamenon Pereira da Silva, one of the main streets in the neighborhood. The under-used space has suffered from a lack of maintenance, turning it into an unsafe dumping ground. Within walking distance of two public schools, a daycare, a health center, residences, and local shops and services, these steps have a strategic position.
Involving local community members from the beginning, the local school’s community, neighborhood associations, local urban artists, and the local government authority, the design process included all concerned actors. Entitled Mind the Step, the project started with 5 workshops, including two Minecraft sessions, where the input from 163 community members was gathered. In fact, this led the Local Government Authority (LAG) to improve specific elements before the hands-on intervention, implementing for example new crosswalk and speed reduction signage, LED lighting, etc.
Later on, it was the community that transformed the staircase, participated in painting murals and other volunteer activities. The infrastructural changes included mural art; wooden slide, benches and a picnic table; 10 tire-benches; a community library, and drainage planters. Considered a successful intervention, the area has seen an increase in the total number of people, using the site. The regenerated place became a gathering spot in the neighborhood.
The case of Kochi, India
Munambam Muziris Beach
Munambam Muziris Beach, on Vypin Island in Kochi, India has been disregarded for a long time by the local authorities, although it held many interesting components such as natural green spaces that provide shade. This lack of action prevented residents especially people with disabilities and mobility devices to use the space because there was no infrastructure that would allow them to access the beach.
UN-Habitat has taken this concern and has helped locals take back the space, in collaboration with ESAF and Health Bridge, “making the beach more functional and inclusive for all people irrespective of their gender, age, and ability”. In fact, the Munambam Muziris Beach project generated a “barrier-free model beach”, to be duplicated in other similar circumstances, implementing ramps on the beach, “which can be used by anyone with or without a mobility device”. In addition, the intervention also sought to encourage tourism and livelihood opportunities for the local community.
Always taking the same approach of involving local residents in the initiative from the beginning, the project put in place a Minecraft workshop with 42 members of the community and 8 elected officials, where people developed designs for the entire beach. They proposed to enhance the playground, create a sports area, and introduce improvements for people living with disabilities. Followed by a multitude of meetings, Munambam Muziris Beach generated an “understanding among the community about the importance of public space, the need for beaches to be inclusive for people living with disabilities and the overall project”. In the end, infrastructure changes comprised of a barrier-free ramp, entrance, and public toilet, along with 3 graffiti walls and 11 trash bins.
The results of this project include access to the beach for those living with disabilities, an increase in business, and the flux of tourists. An important contribution to accessibility on the district level, the project encouraged other beaches to rethink their fences and to change their designs to make them barrier-free.
Info Via UN-Habitat.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topic: How Will We Live Together. Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and projects. Learn more about our monthly topics here. As always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.
