Designing for informal contexts : a case study of Enkanini sanitation intervention
Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Chinese Institute of Design
Abstract
ENGLISH SUMMARY : Increasing social agency in the design profession corresponds to the call for greater participation of science in solving complex social problems. We analyse the complex problem of informal urban sanitation in the Enkanini informal settlement in South Africa to articulate
the facilitatory role of design in the collaborative effort to improve sanitation in the settlement. More specifically, an in-depth understanding
of the multi-stakeholder collaboration in the case offers solutions for designing in complex social contexts. In the discussion, we expound
on the methodological concerns of designing in an informal settlement context by analysing the role of the design ethnographer and
articulating core design competencies. This leads to the conceptualisation of
infrastructuring as an open-ended model for design facilitation in informal contexts, in which challenges and inconsistencies have to be dealt with. We also contrast the open-ended, multidisciplinary approach of infrastructuring with the more design-centred participatory approaches that are better suited to literate participants. In the
Enkanini case, we had to adopt a narrative-style participatory approach to capture the rich tacit knowledge of participants. The paper thus answers to the need for both technological and social innovation while contributing to the methodological understanding of design as a collaborative, long-term process.
Description
CITATION: Ambole, L. A., Swilling, M. & M’Rithaa, M. K. 2016. Designing for informal contexts: a case study of Enkanini sanitation intervention. International Journal of Design, 10(3):75-84.
The original publication is available at http://www.ijdesign.org
The original publication is available at http://www.ijdesign.org
Keywords
Squatter settlements -- Stellenbosch (South Africa), Urban sanitation -- Design and construction, Ethnology -- Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Citation
Ambole, L. A., Swilling, M. & M’Rithaa, M. K. 2016. Designing for informal contexts: a case study of Enkanini sanitation intervention. International Journal of Design, 10(3):75-84