Participatory Design in PocketPedal
PocketPedal: Excerpt from a video demonstrating use of the PocketPedal game. Video and game by Alexander Holland.
Contributors: Alexander Holland; Stanislav Roudavski.
Presented at TRANSnational STS: Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Conference and Exhibition, Sydney, Australia.
This work contributes to urban design by providing a demonstrator of inclusive design participation. This contribution is important because many urban-design challenges result in stalemates due to disagreements between stakeholders. Seeking to alleviate this common situation, the project asks: how can participatory approaches advance design in complex situations? The project hypothesizes that mobile games can support participatory design. To test this hypothesis, we developed a mobile game that simulates challenges of urban cycling in Melbourne. We tested this game in application to a concrete disputed site through workshops with diverse stakeholders. The analysis of testing demonstrates that this approach can support creativity and build solidarity among participants with different backgrounds, needs and political positions.
This recorded work contributes to the narrative of the project by demonstrating the operation of the game in social settings, something that cannot be easily understood from the game itself or its textual analysis. The moving image documentation, supported by oral presentations, demonstrates innovative methods of collaboration. The project constructs novel theoretical interpretations of participatory components of the design process and offers tools for their practical use.
The approach developed through the project has generated interested among individual and institutional stakeholders including local councils (The City of Port Phillip), governmental organisations (VicRoads) and urban cycling organisations (ACT Pedal Power). The recorded work was integrated into a range of presentations and participatory workshops in peer-reviewed research conferences and exhibitions such as TRANSnational STS: Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Conference and Exhibition (2018, Sydney). Other aspects of the projects resulted in several academic publications. The project won two awards for best presentations in research conferences.
Video
PocketPedal: Video demonstrating use of the PocketPedal game. Video and game by the authors.
Images
PocketPedal: Photograph of the exhibit at the 2018 4S conference in Sydney, Australia. Image and exhibit by the authors.
PocketPedal: Photograph of the exhibit at the 2018 4S conference in Sydney, Australia. Image and exhibit by by the authors.
PocketPedal: Photograph of the exhibit at the 2018 4S conference in Sydney, Australia. Image and exhibit by the authors.
Publications
Holland, Alexander, and Stanislav Roudavski. "Design Tools and Complexity: Mobile Games and Collective Imagination." In Proceedigns of the 34th International Conference on Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe: (ECAADe): Complexity and Simplicity, edited by Aulikki Hermeoia, Toni Österlund, and Piia Markkanen, 2:555–4. Brussels: eCAADe, University of Oulu, 2016. https://doi.org/10/czr9.
Holland, Alexander, and Stanislav Roudavski. "PocketPedal: Beyond Disciplines with Mobile Games." Inflection 3, no. November (2016): 68–5. https://doi.org/10/czsb.
Holland, Alexander, and Stanislav Roudavski. "Mobile Gaming for Agonistic Design." In Fifty Years Later: Revisiting the Role of Architectural Science in Design and Practice: The 50th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, edited by Jian Zuo, Lyrian Daniel, and Veronica Soebarto, 299–08. Adelaide: Architectural Science Association, The University of Adelaide, 2016. https://doi.org/10/czsc.
Roudavski, Stanislav, Alexander Holland, and Julian Rutten. "Data Games for Ecological Design." In Learning, Prototyping and Adapting, Short Paper Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), edited by Weixin Huang, Mani Williams, Dan Luo, and YiXin Wu, 115–0. Hong Kong: CAADRIA, 2018. https://doi.org/10/gfspv2.
Presentations
2018, Limits to Participation, presentation, TRANSnational STS: Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Conference, leading research conference in its field, 4S, Sydney, AU.
2018, PocketPedal, peer-selected exhibit, Design Computing Exhibition, Czech Technical University of Prague, Prague, CZ.
Links
Related Projects
Acknowledgements
Backlinks