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