The Day After: The Life and Fate of Participatory Design Projects in Russian Cities

Abstract

In recent years, participatory design has become a popular social technology that ensures, on the one hand, a high level of public involvement in the process of shaping the urban environment, and, on the other, the successful simulation of this involvement. The selection of objects for discussion, the definition of the circle of experts, the implementation and regulation of its further use remains in the field of decisions of the authorities. A common problem within this topic can be defined in the form of a multi-step question “What’s next? What is the fate of the project after its completion?” — how will the public space be used; what types of activities announced during the discussion will become relevant; what risks, not taken into account earlier, will prevent the integration of the object into the fabric of everyday public life? The research question is to determine the extent and nature of the impact of the participatory design procedure and/or its individual elements on the sustainable functioning of new and reconstructed public spaces. The methodology of data acquisition involves the analysis of visual data, surveys of participants, experts and organizers regarding the experience of participatory design in Russian cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vologda, Kazan, etc.) and the fate of the projects after their implementation. A necessary element is a comparative analysis of the results of the implementation of various projects for the creation of public spaces with and without the use co-participating design. The study determines the most effective mechanisms for the formation of the urban environment using participatory design, but not exclusively reduced to it. In particular, a scheme of long-term anthropological and sociological research is being built, supplemented by the analysis of big data, adjusted at the final stage by the assessment and modeling of the user experience to ensure the implementation of planned functions and behavioral scenarios for urban public spaces.