Community based design emerged in response to the traditional practices of urban development that exclude community members from participating in the processes that directly impact their urban environments. In contrast to traditional design practices, which produce exclusive byproducts like rent increases and gentrification, community based design is inclusive, meaning community members have decision-making powers regarding how their urban environment is developed. Community based design centers originated and have a strong history in the United States, and there is no coordinated plan to centralize community based design efforts in the district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany. Our project examines the perspectives and processes of community based design in Germany and the United States to provide informational materials, based on an analysis of those perspectives and processes, to support the establishment of a community based design center in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. We conclude that newly formed centers may find success if they partner with academia, utilize active community outreach strategies, build strong trust-relationships with the communities they work with, and allocate a physical location for engaging in community based design work. The guide book and website repository we created inform readers of the foundational principles of community based design along with strategies for the formation and maintenance of a community based design center.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Yurcak, Jacob C.
• O'Grady, Joshua P.
• Whitney, Hannah M.
• Maurice, Rachel L.

Subject

• Community
• Inclusion
• Well-Being

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-051721-114703
• 24736

Keyword

• urban development
• participatory planning
• Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
• right to the city
• inclusive design
• community based design

Advisor

• Carrera, Fabio
• DiMassa, Daniel

Year

• 2021

Center

• Berlin, Germany Project Center - IQP

Sponsor

• Mathias Heyden

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 10 - Reducing Inequality
• 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
• 16 - Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

Date created

• 2021-05-17

Resource type

• Interactive Qualifying Project

Rights statement

• In Copyright

License

• Creative Commons BY-NC Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International