Transformative learning of participation in urban planning in tertiary education - the role of visual methods

Participation has become a buzzword in urban development projects. While it is generally accepted as a cornerstone of inclusive development, it often remains a hollow concept: no more than a box ticked in a directive approach, limited to project level informing or consultation instead of actual citizen engagement and empowerment. At the same time, visual methods are considered crucial in participatory urban planning. However, limited research is done on the crucial competencies in participatory and visual methods in urban planning to ensure inclusion of harder-to-reach voices. Therefor this study investigates the role of visual methods in transformative tertiary learning in participatory urban planning. We study how students performing a 3-month urban planning fieldwork in India build competency in participation through visual methods as part of the master program in Urban Ecological Planning at NTNU. Drawing on the perspectives of thoughts, feelings and behavior, we perform a meta-reflection based on students’ reflections and final reports. Building on previous research on this educational fieldwork, we present a worked example of the use of visual methods to study three different neighborhoods in the city of Panaji, India. Our findings indicate that visual methods are a powerful tool in conducting educational urban fieldwork with the objective to enhance a transformation in students. Empirical evidence illustrates that the visual methods do not only result in richer data collection and a deeper engagement with participants, but they also prove to be a valuable tool for reflection and stepping stones for the transformative learning process. The findings can inform teaching and facilitate further fieldwork.

ISBN:9789067842181

Publication year:2020

Accessibility:Closed