Strategic overview of digital public participation tools for urban planning

In light of the current pandemic, and the subsequent social distancing measures it imposed, this research aims to contribute to the literature of digital public participation methods for urban planning. It will specifically investigate the correlation between the technical knowledge required by digital public participation tools and levels of engagement, and the consequences of digital public participation to underserved populations. The requirements for digital knowledge and the levels of engagement will be used as axes of a matrix, in which the digital engagement tools will be plotted. The comparison of these variables will lead to the conclusion that the higher is the level of engagement, the higher is the requirement of digital knowledge, and therefore, the less accessible the method is for underserved communities. The research will finalize with some suggestions on how to overcome these challenges, which include the mitigation of digital literacy gaps through education, and the use of the current tools in more creative ways, prioritizing the low-tech ones, to enhance inclusivity and equity to urban planning projects and plans.

Case study: use of Rapid Ethnographic research for participatory urban design

This article analyzed the use of rapid ethnographic methodologies to assess community concerns for urban design practices. Rapid Ethnographic Assessment Process (REAP) is a compilation of methodologies that produce ethnographic knowledge in a short time frame and is constantly used for public health and sustainability. The article is about a participatory case-study conducted in the historic city center of Santiago de Los Caballeros, in the Dominican Republic. REAP was used to understand its application for urbanism. The case-study revealed a spectrum of cultures from different groups within the study area, and how the project would impact their ways of life. It also depicted a gap between the pre-existing proposals and the aims and challenges of the community groups. If appropriately applied, REAP can produce valuable results, and help inform urban design practices while assuring that they are respectful to the populations they will influence.

Case study: use of Rapid Ethnographic research for participatory urban design

This article analyzed the use of rapid ethnographic methodologies to assess community concerns for urban design practices. Rapid Ethnographic Assessment Process (REAP) is a compilation of methodologies that produce ethnographic knowledge in a short time frame and is constantly used for public health and sustainability. The article is about a participatory case-study conducted in the historic city center of Santiago de Los Caballeros, in the Dominican Republic. REAP was used to understand its application for urbanism. The case-study revealed a spectrum of cultures from different groups within the study area, and how the project would impact their ways of life. It also depicted a gap between the pre-existing proposals and the aims and challenges of the community groups. If appropriately applied, REAP can produce valuable results, and help inform urban design practices while assuring that they are respectful to the populations they will influence.

Exploring the Role of Awe in Architecture as a Pain Disruptor- A Call for New Research

Chronic pain is a widespread and complex phenomenon, driven by a diverse range of factors. Pain management has become a significant concern over the past several decades in the United States as controversy has grown surrounding the use of opioids for chronic pain management, the use of which has led to abuse and addiction. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 128 people die in the United States every day from an opioid overdose, whether obtained illicitly or by prescription. While opioids remain one of the frontline methods for pain management, their long term safety and efficacy has come under scrutiny. As with any complex systemic issue, there are many contributing factors to chronic pain and pain management. This paper proposes that the experience of awe – specifically elicited by design of the built environment – can serve as an innovative, non-pharmacological pain management tool. Awe is an emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli, precipitating accommodation or a shift in existing mental structures. The author hypothesizes that awe can be used as a form of the proven self-regulating pain management method known as reappraisal. Pain reappraisal is cognitive reframing of the context and meaning of pain, changing the value that pain is assigned and resulting in decreased pain perception. This paper explores the pertinent intersection of emotions, neuroscience, and the impact of the physical environment on our health and wellbeing. The intention of this paper is to call for a new line of research and does not attempt to address methods or results at this time.

Exploring the Role of Awe in Architecture as a Pain Disruptor- A Call for New Research

Chronic pain is a widespread and complex phenomenon, driven by a diverse range of factors. Pain management has become a significant concern over the past several decades in the United States as controversy has grown surrounding the use of opioids for chronic pain management, the use of which has led to abuse and addiction. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 128 people die in the United States every day from an opioid overdose, whether obtained illicitly or by prescription. While opioids remain one of the frontline methods for pain management, their long term safety and efficacy has come under scrutiny. As with any complex systemic issue, there are many contributing factors to chronic pain and pain management. This paper proposes that the experience of awe – specifically elicited by design of the built environment – can serve as an innovative, non-pharmacological pain management tool. Awe is an emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli, precipitating accommodation or a shift in existing mental structures. The author hypothesizes that awe can be used as a form of the proven self-regulating pain management method known as reappraisal. Pain reappraisal is cognitive reframing of the context and meaning of pain, changing the value that pain is assigned and resulting in decreased pain perception. This paper explores the pertinent intersection of emotions, neuroscience, and the impact of the physical environment on our health and wellbeing. The intention of this paper is to call for a new line of research and does not attempt to address methods or results at this time.

When nature calls: The importance of restroom design to support cognition

It is possible that an often-overlooked space in building design is among the most important in supporting cognition: the restroom. In rat studies, a neural mechanism known as replay has been linked with learning and planning, and occurs during certain wakeful pause behaviors including defecating. If, like rats, the human brain is also wired to replay, then optimizing behavioral and environmental conditions – such as toileting and restroom design -- could foster cognitive benefits. Replay is dependent on external environmental conditions, and is supported when surrounding sensory stimuli are not demanding attention. Thus, replay may be facilitated environmentally by pairing wakeful pauses with environments conducive to supporting a defocused, internal processing state. Because nature-like features have been linked with guiding similar wakeful offline states such as defocused attention and mind-wandering, using nature in restroom design may help foster important cognitive mechanisms during toileting by facilitating replay through a supportive sensory experience. This paper aims to highlight to the impact of the environment on neural mechanisms with implications for researched-informed design. In this example, the restroom is one key space which lends itself to benefitting from research-informed design guidelines as the evidence base grows.