Evidence-Based Design Justice: Synthesizing Statistics and Stories—To Create Future ‘Just’ Cities

Abstract

AbstractThe explanatory prowess of Urban Science stems from computational and scientific data-driven approaches. Data alone, however cannot engineer solutions to complex, socio-economic issues such as homelessness and poverty. Initiatives to address these issues need to be informed by lived experiences of those experiencing these issues. This study seeks to build on the strengths of urban science and design research—which relies on understanding users—to complement one another to create a holistic evidence-based understanding of complex urban issues. We offer ‘perceptive design'—an evidence-based design approach—as one way to synthesize quantitative data-analytics and qualitative stories of lived experiences and apply it to the live issue of homelessnessness in Brisbane, Australia. We demonstrate how a synthesis of urban science and design research can traverse the extremes of (macro) systems level scales to (micro) street level scales. Outcomes of this research include ways to address—not solve—homelessness, such as ways for those experiencing homelessness to influence homelessness service provision and policies. Based on these actionable outcomes, this study introduces the construct of Evidence-based Design Justice (EDJ) that leverages perceptive design to initiate agency for addressing systemic inequities and injustices in cities—to position future cities as Just and Wise Cities.KeywordsUrban scienceDesign researchLived experiencesEvidence-based design justicePerceptive designData analyticsHomelessness