human cities

Research from Brussels
Public Design

The Brussels team will focus its researches and contributions on qualitative studies based on the perception and the behaviours of people in urban public places. We propose to analyse the appropriation, the uses or the misuses of urban objects and forms by the people. We will also analyse how people divert or misuse some of these urban objects or spaces in order to find a solution to a problem they could not solve properly (ex: homeless people using public benches to sleep. Teenagers who gather in public places and around some public objects (benches,...) because they do not have a particular place to express themselves).

Spontaneous use to create new urban furniture (capacitating/decapacitating)

In order to develop this topic, we will work in close relation with Sabine Guisse. Linking her research (download the paper) to the Human Cities project will give us the opportunity to see and analyse how people spontaneously create their own urban furniture by the free use of public objects our urban spaces (ex: sit down on stairs to create a new bench, how people find some new shelters in order to avoid raindrops,…). As a result of her research, she will write a handbook for designers which will give some recommendations for the creation and the preliminary reflection before the conception of urban furniture and urban spaces in general. In close collaboration with Sabine, we will analyse up to what point we can transpose the results of these observations to the reflection of designers within the different partner cities working on the Human Cities project.

What about the place given to the reflection and the preliminary context before the creation of new urban furniture (Top down approach)

The team will investigate if designer do develop a reflection on the "enabling" and "disenabling" effects of their intervention(s) in the public places? To illustrate this question, we will propose some designers to test their creation on the spot, in some urban public places, in order to confront their new furniture with the people for whom it is created for our not. See how people perceive and use our misuse these new urban objects.

Contribution of design and designers

Ask the designers to confront their keys of reading with the one gathered by research of Sabine Guisse. Distribute a questionnaire to different European designer all over Europe and more specifically in the different partner countries working on the Human Cities project.

Collaboration and interaction between ISACF-La Cambre and the Politecnico di Milano (enabled/disenabled)

The results of the Brussels studies will be regularly confront with the "bottom-up" approach developed by the Politecnico based on "Social innovation and public spaces".