Service Design as a Way to Engage Communities

Wada, Terri; Napier, Pamela

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Service Design as a Way to Engage Communities Open Access Deposited

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Date Uploaded: 11/28/2017
Date Modified: 02/02/2018

In an equally distressed and burgeoning community just outside of our major metropolitan city, there is a history of transformation efforts—from creative placemaking, to affordable housing initiatives, to economic re-development—which have all seemed to fall short in the area of community engagement.

From the creation of neighborhood festivals that have low resident turnout, to a backlash of discouraged citizens who feel unheard and uninformed, there was a need to re-consider how to involve this unique community—made up of four very distinct neighborhoods— in the imminent re-development of the area in which they live.

In the winter of 2016, our service design and creative strategy consultancy was brought in to a city-wide visionary community development project tied to our rapidly approaching bicentennial, in order to utilize service design methodologies as a way to engage communities and to design with organizations and community residents according to their needs and desires.

This short paper will highlight a case study of an ongoing collaboration between our consultancy; a non-profit organization dedicated to the growth of it’s community; a higher education institution with a legacy of community engagement; a local office of the country’s largest community development corporation focused on Creative Placemaking and community revitalization; and, most importantly, various residents and stakeholders.

The accompanying poster will visualize the process of engagement of various community stakeholders, tailored design research methods, and mechanisms for assessing short- and longterm
community impact.

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