Living Lab – the Future of Kungsgatan
Through a Living Lab we explored what needs and desires that exist in relation to Kungsgatan together with residents of Norrköping.
The Living Lab was part of a bigger design and research project "Sustainability means inclusivity" at LiU. Our role was to establish a citizen dialogue and learn what needs and desires that truly are present amongst locals when they think about the urban environment on and around Kungsgatan. The activities unveiled some of the citizens core values which we communicated to the research team, in part through these illustrations.
This was during the second wave of Covid-19, meaning the University was in lockdown and all our activities needed to be remote. Facilitating workshops and design activities online felt limiting at time but resulted in new experiences and knowledge for us as designers.
For me, I got hands on experience in planning and facilitating a participatory design process and gained confidence in leading and guiding open-ended workshops and design activities.
We connected the Living Lab procedure to the European goals of Agenda 2030 to investigate how citizens desires for the future could align with the Agenda goals of sustainability, inclusivity and smart tech development.
Before the Living Lab started we handed out this map and asked the participants to take a stroll down Kungsgatan and to be mindful of their senses. What smells and sounds hit them? What did they see? How did they feel? We asked them to take notes and mark the spots on the map. When we met for the first lab we shared our experiences and placed value words on to an online version of the map.
Since the Living Lab took place during the pandemic, when the University was in lockdown, were online tools such as Miro invaluable for the workshops. Miro worked as a shared location, open for any of the labbers to visit and share new ideas whenever.
Inclusive Arbis
A participatory design project to create a more inclusive and inviting youth center. Entailed design activities such as workshops, system blueprints, actor journey's and storytelling.
A more detailed project description coming up!
