Urban Design Workshops: A System Model of Engagement for Sustainable Community Development

Cities present challenges arising from the dynamics of growth for people and the places they inhabit. A system model of engagement for urban design workshops proposes functions, processes, and roles for local stakeholders interacting with planning experts. Three mechanisms are outlined for effective...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hecht, Bruce Allen
Other Authors: Moser, Bryan R.
Format: Thesis
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2023
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/150162
Description
Summary:Cities present challenges arising from the dynamics of growth for people and the places they inhabit. A system model of engagement for urban design workshops proposes functions, processes, and roles for local stakeholders interacting with planning experts. Three mechanisms are outlined for effective workshops: stakeholders contribute inputs and experiences in defining the problem space; balancing attention allocation promotes the generation of a range of options; and resulting choices prioritize solutions as desired outcomes. An experiment is outlined to test the proposed model and applicability to sustainable land use at a site selected for the potential of transit-oriented development. The research addresses cities’ future growth and resilience, leveraging local and lived experience with professional and technical expertise. Keywords: Urban design workshops, transit-oriented development, sustainable development, stakeholder engagement, teamwork mechanisms, urban planning, urban science, transdisciplinary engineering