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There are different definitions of “generative design”, but this research is focused on the role of generative design
to support and provoke creative thinking; it means, as a developer of a common language that everyone can use
to express their ideas —“everyone” includes all social stakeholders, even whom Ezio Manzini calls “diffuse agents”
or those who experience the problem and for this reason become a fundamental source for the creation of possible
solutions.
An important fact to consider is: creativity does not happen inside a person’s head but in the interaction between
a person’s thoughts and a socio-cultural context (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996); as Sanders (2001) has stated collective
creativity can be very powerful and can lead to more culturally relevant results than individual creativity does.
Here relies the importance of studying this perspective as an important piece of sustainable development,
which “embodies integration, and understanding and acting on the complex interconnections that exist between the
environment, economy, and society ” (Drexhage & Murphy, 2010).
Authors: Erica Marlene Cortes López
Explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge compose the Human Knowledge. While explicit knowledge refers to information sharable through communicative media (i.e. speech), tacit knowledge – also known as ‘know-how’ – is harder to be shared due to it is linked to experience mediated personal learning processes (i.e. learning by doing); moreover, know-how is useful to deal daily practical situations. This condition produces a dichotomy: people have know-how but they are unable to share what is mediated by their experience. Many studies evidence that know-how is a sustainable value that should be shared. While emerging opportunities arose from the last economic crisis have pointed out a large number of new chances for the use of know-how, there is a lack between the human sharing’s will and the need of solutions to convert, share and learn know-how. This study proposes a design-oriented process for converting know-how, which can be applied to emerging and developing contexts, as well as to all issues concerning social innovation, inclusion and knowledge development.
Authors: Emilio Rossi
Walking is a popular transport means for seniors doing daily errands, and pedestrian pavements play a key role in
influencing the quality of older people’s walking. Walking experience of older pedestrians and their perspectives to
the outdoor environment are crucial in planning and designing pavements. However, their walking experience and
perspective on the pavement are less involved in the process of urban development. A participatory toolkit is created
providing a chance for older people to share their walking experience and to indicate their opinions of the pavement
in a group study conducted by researchers who develop the pedestrian environment. The tool allows users to identify
hazardous factors of the pavement, seek the impact of pavement hazards, and improve the pavement using recommendations.
Based on the outputs of the toolkit, the researchers can have a better understanding of the relationship
between pavements and elderly people and create an age-friendly pedestrian environment.
Authors: Lulu Yin, Eujin Pei
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Good livelihoods are a key component to providing adequate health, sustainable energy and satisfactory education
within communities. One approach to providing a means for an efficient system for rural communities in Kenya is
the uptake of bio-based economies. The research is a social change research guided by the transition theory. Anticipated
transitions of the transition theory are applied to understand the relationship of different social contexts within
communities and impacts of various roles. The qualitative study aims to map community member’s perceptions
of available resources and how resources could be used to improve livelihoods. Kenya’s rural areas are vastly distributed
hence rural communities in Murang’a County represent a viable sample with which to test a bio-based economy
approach. The study will contribute not only an understanding of hierarchies in roles within the process network,
but also provide socio-economic development hypothesis towards the successful adoption of bio-based economies.
Authors: Pauline N. Mutura, Dr. Wairimu Maina, Dr. Peter Kamau