Playing with Public Space : Engaging Residents in a Playful Co-creation Process to Change their Neighbourhood

Abstract: I would like to open this thesis by asking the reader to reflect on the following questions regarding the urban space they live in or transit through often: How are these spaces designed? Do residents or inhabitants influence the design of these spaces? In many cities around the world we are witnessing an increased interest from the top management in including inhabitants in their planning and design schemes, yet there seems to be a problem. The way to do this remains top-down in the great majority of cases, meaning that the role of the user of space is clearly differentiated from the expert (urban planner, designer, architect), who tends to consult residents rather than include them as equals in the processes of modifying space. Traditional approaches have reached their limits, and “novel approaches to inform and involve citizens in a playful co-creation process are necessary” (Gugerell, Jauschneg, Platzer, & Berger, 2017). In this context, a new form of urbanism is gaining popularity – placemaking or bottom-up urbanism. This approach looks to transform spaces into places through the participation ofusers, collaboration of stakeholders, and a shared ownership of the urban spaces. Because of this, placemaking has been seen as a way of co-creating urban space. This reports a study of the potential of using a process of co-creation to give alternative uses to unsustainable spaces. For this, a playful process has been developed - the Fluke process in which a high presence has been given to residents in the different design actions, uncovering new ways of transforming public spaces. Additionally, this thesis has explored how the use of more playful tools could help residents be more engaged with the processand make it more inclusive. The Fluke process was applied in a neighbourhood in the North of Stockholm during three months and a half, getting around 300 residents to be involved in one way or another in a process that led to the temporary transformation of some of the neighbourhood spaces. These changes were ideated, created, and managed by residents – offering spatial improvement and a sense of agency to its inhabitants - and it was all done with a small budget of 3000 kr coming from the tenant association. This thesis proposes a low-cost way of doing resident-led urbanism, in which residents go from passive users to active creators of place.