Walking Within the Design Process

When engaging with communities, designers become intimately familiar with the people and places in which they work. In both academia and professional practice, a variety of methods and tools are needed for the ‘get to know you’ process, as designers gather information and build relationships. The ability to select the most appropriate methods and customize them to local conditions, cultures, history, clients, etc is an important skill. In this paper, the innovative use of walking as a method of local data collection and engagement will be explored through the review of two case studies: Artist Walk and Workshop (Austin, Texas); and Walk Audits for Beebe and DeQueen (Arkansas). Across the case studies, community engagement is a focus, exploring how walking can draw designers and the community together to share knowledge, look at spaces and conditions, and build a shared understanding of the physical, social, and cultural environment.1 The case studies highlight opportunities and applications within academic and professional practice, including community / stakeholder meetings, community-focused academic studios, and designers’ individual engagement with context in relationship to a specific design and/or planning project.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AIA.Inter.21.8

Volume Editors
Rico Quirindongo & Georgeen Theodore

ISBN
978-1-944214-39-5