Change by Design: Building Communities Through Participatory Design

This book documents the methodology and findings from an Architecture Sans Frontières (ASF-UK) action research workshop, Change by Design, undertaken in Nairobi, Kenya, which explored the opportunities and limitations of community-led participatory design which directly engages slum dwellers in planning slum upgrading projects.

Through concurrent investigations at the ‘macro’ institutional scale, the ‘meso’ neighbourhood scale, and the ‘micro’ dwelling scale, the findings highlight that undertaking participatory design at these three scales is a proactive way to facilitate negotiations, highlight diversity and reach consensus.

Central to the innovative approach is a focus on the degree to which it can not only build an improved physical environment but also recognise the social production of space; empower slum dwellers to be active agents of change; and build socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable communities.