Varieties and Issues of Participation and Design

Participatory design is the antithesis of traditional design in which designers are expected to exhibit their expertise. The right to participate in design is often ignored and even when it is accepted, many obstacles including perceived pragmatic/economic deficiencies and organizational concerns, impede participation. This paper criticizes the foundations of traditional design and elaborates some features of participation in various design disciplines particularly in the context of architectural design and urban planning. An approach to participation founded on widening communication channels among participants is presented. Finally, the potential applications of computer tools for supporting participation is discussed. Keywords: Design Theory, Communication, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, Design Quality. Reich et al. November 8, 1995 Page 2 Participatory design has been discussed, off and on, at least since the 1960s [1, 2, 3]. However, the still prevalent view of design is t..