Abstract:
This paper examines how political commitment to participatory design within the context of a major urban redevelopment project was translated into a strategy and a course of action for achieving effective participation within a demanding project timeframe. The project in question involves a new transport interchange for the city of Auckland (New Zealand), the redevelopment of a number of heritage buildings, and the introduction of new buildings to create a mixed use precinct covering three city blocks. The project, currently being implemented, has involved extensive public consultation and stakeholder participation as it has proceeded through the stages of project visioning, an open public design competition, and the development of the competition winning design. The paper draws a distinction between the contributions of stakeholders versus the public at large to the decision-making process, outlines the different kinds of participatory processes adopted by the local authority (Auckland City Council) to effectively engage and involve these two different groups and the stages in the evolution of the project at which these different contributions were introduced. The model of ‘open design’ proposed by van Gunsteren and van Loon is used as a basis for explaining the success of multi-stakeholder inputs at a crucial stage in project development. The paper concludes by examining the limits of applicability of the ‘open design’ model in the context of urban redevelopment projects in which there is broad public interest, and by suggesting a number of design decision support guidelines for the management of participatory processes.
