Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the urgency in the search for innovative solutions in different areas of knowledge to mitigate the effects and impacts of the disease, whether on health, social or economic terms. Urban and socio-economic determinants of informal-settlement communities make COVID-19 challenges even harder to be overcome, requiring local and situated solutions that consider their livelihood diversity. This manuscript shows the results of an exploratory pilot study which addressed the potential of participatory design to contribute to mitigating COVID-19 effects and impacts, identifying the problems, adaptative strategies, challenges for and needs of Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte communities. It was drawn from triangulation of methods and analysis of multiple (primary and secondary) data sources. The needs of communities were raised through online roundtables with community members, representatives of NGOs, designers, architects and researchers. Analysis of the roundtables was conducted collaboratively by the researchers through online tools, including Affinity Mapping, and 5 Whys. The findings point out the needs of communities clustered in 6 major themes, five of which indicate potential areas in which participatory design can play a meaningful role and need to be further investigated.
Highlights
This exploratory pilot study1 aims to identify COVID-19 challenges for informal-settlement communities, defining problems, adaptative strategies, and needs that are caused or exacerbated by the pandemic. It explores the potential of participatory design and co-design to build community-led solutions to problems expressed by community members addressing their related areas of challenges and needs
The results show that, in addition to the evident demands related to the pandemic, there are potential opportunities for participatory design contributions in communities, such as:
Prior literature on community resilience using participatory approaches to emergency and recovery emphasises the importance of community-led solutions, stressing the needs (1) to hold local planning efforts of communities accountable, (2) to reinforce community selforganisation and networks, building capabilities and enhancing their access to needed resources, including external ones
Summary
This exploratory pilot study aims to identify COVID-19 challenges for informal-settlement communities, defining problems, adaptative strategies, and needs that are caused or exacerbated by the pandemic. It explores the potential of participatory design and co-design to build community-led solutions to problems expressed by community members addressing their related areas of challenges and needs. These were identified through two online roundtables that brought together active community members, NGOs’ representatives, designers, architects and researchers from three universities (Lancaster University, UFMG, UEMG).
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