A Participatory Planning Mini-Experiment: Students Express Concerns in Planning Negotiations through an Urban Diagnosis Walk

Participatory planning has become an emerging characteristic of contemporary planning best practices. Having evolved since the 1970s, as concern arose of the dangers of top-down planning, it consists of a variety of practical tools planning agencies can use in their scoping process. Particularly useful in uncovering 'insurgent planning histories' (Sandercock, 1998), an example organization that employs such tools is Collectiu Punt 6, an action based in Barcelona, engaging women architects, planners, and activists. Their goal is game-changing for design-related gender discrimination: involve women in the planning process to transform cities to be safer and catered more toward their needs. As with all participatory planning tools, limitations exists, as social structures can impose arbitrary restrictions via 'tokenism' so that ideas are not actualized (Arnstein, 1969). In an undergraduate contemporary planning issues course at my university, we tried out one of these planning tools ourselves to see what we could gain from the experience.

As part of this collaborative planning mini-experiment, we were provided a map of the urban diagnosis walk. For this experience, we would do a round in a select area of our campus and make observations and take photographs as we pleased. The select area of the campus is a rapidly transforming site, with modern, high-rise housing construction being built to accommodate a rising population of mostly international students, as well as other efforts to include more mixed-use development and some public spaces. We were given a list of guiding questions to help facilitate concerning issues of spatial visibility (i.e., components and vegetation), social visuality (i.e., street activity), information (i.e., signage), and "prohibited" spaces (i.e., use and appropriation).

Students insights demonstrated that this tool ought to be used more in the planning process to hear a diverse range of perspectives. For example, some students pointed to the inherent inequities in building  housing using expensive steel-frame construction catered to a small percentage of the population who could afford it. The result is that many local students commute for more than an hour to campus each day. Others wondered about the inadequate signage given the extent of building construction sites. Some asked questions about the frequency of dead zones on the campus; these are places that have potential but due to walls without actual frontage and windows, they become mere passage ways. Another critical observation was whether small bus transit through this area was adequate and also accessible to other needs (i.e., parents with strollers) and how sanitized some parts of the campus were, inhibiting any form of creativity. Cohesive visions for planning for the future demand innovative tools that allow different perspectives to be heard. In this case, students will be the primary users of a space, so why not involve them more? Participatory planning using the urban diagnosis walk could be one such tool at very low cost.

Sources:

Arnstein, Sherry. 1969. "A ladder of citizen participation", American Institute of Planners, 35:4, 216- 224

Sanderock, Leonie (Ed). 1998. "Introduction", in Making The Invisible Visible: A Multicultural Planning History. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Urban Asia: Secrets and Stereotypes Revealed! (Part 2)

Often admired from abroad as an ideal school lunch program and nutrition education model for other countries around the world, Japanese "Shokuiku" has its flaws, too. Perhaps it is difficult to tell as Japan, when compared to other developed countries, has a much lower obesity rate and one of the highest longevity rates in the world. And speaking with bias as an admirer of Japan myself, Japanese culture typically aims at any projects it conducts right. However, as is the case here, sometimes striving for perfection while running a national program can lead to top-down policy. That in itself is a limitation.

Based on researching current trends and issues in Japan's food self-sufficiency, food safety, nutrition, and changing consumption patterns during a Comprehensive International Education Program on Sustainable Agriculture in Asia, Japan's youth are on a path expected with the commercialisation of the food system characterised by greater control of the food retail sector. Much like its North American and European counterparts, Japan's youth are collecting food miles with their changing diets, by consuming more store-bought, pre-packaged and processed foods shipped from China, Brazil, and Southeast Asian countries with few if any local ingredients. It is clear what this could mean for Japan's highly cherished "Washoku" cuisine, which recently received World Heritage recognition.

In an effort to teach Japanese youth better food habits for cultural preservation and societal health outcomes, policymakers developing Shokuiku have misunderstood a fundamental aspect of food choice in our modern society by calling for more responsibility among individuals as well as a return to traditional family values of eating dinner as a family.

While Shokuiku might have specified goals that many progressive advocates of food security, food self-sufficiency, localism and holistic nutritional education might agree with, its approaches are somewhat misguided. For instance, it does not consider that individual responsibility is not entirely equitable, as many people make food choices based on economic capabilities. Especially for low-earning members of our society (i.e., students), we cannot expect that they will make healthier and local choices when growing prevalence of supermarkets has made processed and imported foods more affordable. Also, the policy ignores other critical aspects that contribute to distanciation from food's source of Japan's modern context, such as changing family patterns due to urbanisation and more women entering the workforce. This means family dinners in the traditional sense are less likely to occur. It also implies that women should be primary caregivers by providing meals to her family, though we know it is unfair to assign domestic gender roles to women vs men.

Policy regarding Shokuiku must include more opinion from various members of society, including those marginalised by its initial policy, like women and low-income groups. Polycentric governance implicit in operating from a food sovereignty lens could help guide the program's reform. As a result, solutions that are more all-encompassing could be adopted. In addition, more responsibility regarding food choice should be shifted to the government, particularly the education system in engaging youth through curricular change. Whether this is best done from a federal level or interpreted and delivered by subnational governents remains a fundamental research question. These changes could include food literacy workshops or incorporate food-related lessons in all courses, and improvements to the already existent and mandatory home-economics curriculum to teach cooking, food preparation and storage, and critical thinking about traceability and food chains.

Washoku

Urban Asia: Secrets and Stereotypes... Revealed! (Part 1)

If there were ever a chance to pretend I was running a segment of Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown," this would be it, as I reveal the lesser known features of bustling cities on the other side of the Pacific. I had the opportunity this past summer to travel for two full months around Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan.

In some places, the Southeast Asian stereotype of motorized rickshaw drivers almost running over pedestrians came alive. In Jakarta, I witnessed first hand what I heard of many times before: a city overwhelmed with congestion, a thick blanket of smog covering the city removing any visibility of the horizon. The megalopolis, a term used to categorize this massively sprawling cluster of metropolitan regions, exhibited signs of widening inequality. Neighborhoods harboring extravagant designer malls offering valet service bordered towering public housing projects in poor condition and  slums. Known as kampungs, these areas consisted of substandard shack style housing and narrow roads covered in potholes.


It's difficult to believe that if you fly one hour by plane away from the series of areas that comprise the Jakarta supercity, you land in a small city inhabited by university students engaging in creative urbanism projects: Yoygakarta. In tourism books, it is oft-described as the gem of Java, a cultural and culinary paradise. Beyond the wonderful street shopping, street art in all alleys and under every overpass, and food carts offering the most delectable morsels of Central Javan cuisine, I came across this late night urbanism intervention in the Southern City Square (Jalan Alun Alun Kidul). The concept is simple, but phenomenal: for 10,000 IDR (roughly 0.70 USD) you rent an old VW beetle and ride it around a track. The vehicles are revamped with bicycle pedals, padded seats, neon lights, and a music system offering a list of popular pop and hip hop tunes. As part of a local custom, you take on the tree challenge, in which you are blindfolded and pedal the car between two trees. The myth is that those who can manage will have good fortune. This creative entertainment caters to all ages and backgrounds- tourists (though there were very few), families, and college students.

To be continued.... Urban Asia: Secrets and Stereotypes... Revealed! (Part 2)

Finding our Niche in the Urban Food System

This blog post is inspired by a conservation my classmate, a food science student, and I just had about finding our niche in the city food system. After having spent the morning volunteering for an urban farm in Vancouver, she wrote me: "From all I've seen, small scale organic farming is labour intensive and unprofitable." This has led me to wonder why we learn in the classroom that we should somehow contribute to the regional food system's transformation when we are simultaneously told by those experienced in the field that our ideas about becoming entrepreneurs of farm to table industries and urban farmers are risky and often unrealistic.

Moreover, organic regulations are too difficult to keep up with for many business owners, especially as land prices in Vancouver are so high to begin with. So my friend and I brainstormed further. I recently sat through a presentation by a graduate of my undergraduate program who began his enterprise by working East Africa with coffee farmers. He eventually started the non-governmental organization, Agrodev, to expose coffee farmers to niche markets by helping them become certified Organic. He late opened a coffee shop in Vancouver, where demand for such products is high. Years later, he now is a successful wholesale coffee roaster who also educates local coffee entrepreneurs about FairTrade and other sustainability and social equity related added value practices.

I also thought of Zak the Baker, a family acquaintance in South Florida, who completed his undergraduate degree, took up a baking apprenticeship in Sweden, and returned to South Florida to become a sourdough bread connoisseur whose local claim to fame began at my neighborhood farmers market in Miami. Just last year, he moved up the urban food system ladder by becoming a bread wholesaler and business owner of a warehouse bakery in the city's budding arts district. His business is on the rise, though he intends to keep it at a local scale. His secret was simply having taken advantage of a locally rare product, fresh bread topped with condiments from all sorts of regions (a sort of creative toast concoction, really). His bread business along with another Miami local FairTrade coffee business, Panther Coffee, add to the urban fabric of the neighborhood.

My friend and I have moved on to discussing the concept of high-value commodities desired in our food. An aspiring business owner, she wants a "sustainable" business economically and environmentally in order to keep our products locally-sourced, but also generate income. Where is our niche? Looks like we have some exploring to do.



Photo taken from: mitchandmeltakemiami.com

Urban Intervention Made Easy Through "Parklets"

Designing a practical public space, as many South Floridians believe, does not come easy. It must involve a large expanse of land and a transit accessible location, right? Sao Paulo, Brazil is yet another world city that demonstrates the opposite. Activists retrofit parallel parking spots into roadside cafes, street playgrounds, a venue for a local band to play a gig, or an outdoor studio for an artist to display their work for pedestrians and drivers to see. I have seen this popular intervention in Europe, and the reason it works so well lies in parklets' convenience: a business (i.e. a restaurant) may use the space for private gain but cannot deny access to public to use the space as well. You may find waitresses serving coffee drinkers, freelancers selling their work, or dance classes taking place in the same spot. That's what makes this concept a great one. Parklets encourage diversity at little to no cost which is much needed for the 21st century city to thrive. After all, the three steps of sustainability involve promoting quality, economic benefit, and social equality. But the concept does not work unless a city government produces some ground rules regarding maintenance of parklets. Sao Paulo, however, has established public policy on public space issues in ordinance with the city's master plan. Best of all, parklets indicate to drivers that pedestrians come first without taking away that much needed sidewalk space. I hope we have the opportunity to pilot parklets projects in cities in the years to come.

Cafe Parklet in Seattle 

Bike Parklet in Miami

Urbanization's Dark Side: China's Grand Plan

After witnessing the success of the "four tigers" of Asia (Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong), it should not surprise us that China too wants to rapidly urbanize in order to compete better in the global economy. However, the government desires to move away from an export-based economy toward a different structure, one of consumer demand, much like the current world hegemon's. With this grand plan comes the forced exodus of Chinese farmers to newly constructed urban centers connected to China's great cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, by rail. I use the word "exodus" because the migration of China's farmers, which is meant to stimulate the state economy by transforming self-sufficient farmers into consuming urbanites, involves harsh measures including relocating thousands to cities where their rural skills never stood a chance. And often these so-called cities are often little more than miles of shoddy apartment complexes. As told in New York Times conducted video interviews, government officials will come to a rural area, physically forcing farmers and their families from their homes. They will either have them sign contracts they are not allowed to read or promise them some form of compensation including worker benefits, free housing, and public education for children. Sadly, the government rarely follows through. In case of local protest, authorities are not afraid to shut down public schools, so the future of rural children is at risk. Now, farmers turned city dwellers inhabit food deserts and lack the necessary skills to earn a living. Currently, tax and land rights' reforms are required for China's urbanization plan to succeed, and hopefully, one of them includes human rights considerations.

See video for more information: http://nyti.ms/1emn8Ru

Also, please read the New York Times coverage "Leaving the Land" for more comprehensive research on China's grand plan to urbanize in the 21st century.

Photo taken from The New York Times "Leaving the Land"

Microliving