Speaker
Description
During summer and autumn 2024 the Ville de Luxembourg, Luxembourg established a new process to update their decennial ((2004, 2014, 2024) local neighbourhood plans. Combining top-down dissemination of approved large-scale urban developments with residents via the concept of Apéri’tours, integrated bottom-up participatory activities included urban sketching, sound recordings and participatory mapping. During the Apéri’tours the City's political leaders and municipal departments walked for one hour and presented to residents the new urban development projects that were in progress or planned for the near future.
Integrated into the walks, bottom-up activities were designed to better understand the challenges and desires of residents at a small scale using engaging, creative and participatory methods. For this end, a team at the local university embarked on a qualitative initiative adapting photovoice methodology and combining it with participatory mapping to explore and gather neighbourhood perceptions of residents. Thus, in this paper we explore the application of photovoice mapping in the context of neighbourhood planning focusing on the perceived local issues, the complexities of multi-governance, and challenges related to scale and boundaries. We also reflect on the role on anonymity in participatory processes in small countries where personal connections are at the fore.
In total, our activity ran during 22 different neighbourhood walks, engaged more than 100 participants in the data collection process and led to the collection of 1000 multilingual contributions. We used an analogue process, whereby diverse participants were randomly selected, invited to participate and given an instant camera and asked to talk photos during the walk of public places that they loved or would like to see improved. Following the walk, pictures that were printed, commented on and mapped. This process supported a sense of collective participation and sparked curiosity in community members who did not take photos. They subsequently shared their thoughts by writing on the map.
The data collection and recording design during the walks was iterative. We strived to balance the participatory experience with ease of data digitisation. We started off with a more individualised process which we soon realised needed to be more collaborative and inclusive. Thus, we centered participation around a large-scale neighbourhood map. This cultivated discussion and dialogue amongst residents themselves, and between residents and the university team.
By integrating photography, short narratives and the spatiality of perceptions, we were able to raise awareness of the key issues facing residents such as lack of autonomy for children, cycling safety and path coherence, environmental quality, local identity, community and social interactions as well as mobility and accessibility concerns.
The issues identified by residents indicate several inherently complex challenges. When evaluated, the perceived issues indicate complexity in problem-solving due to multi-governance structures, with overlapping responsibilities and conflicting priorities. In addition, issues of scale emerged because the public spaces and thoroughfares were prioritised for the regional scale over that of the local lived-experience, thus giving rise to unique boundary challenges resulting from being situated on the edge of the city. The perceived issues experienced by different neighbourhoods appear to be in part determined by the types of urban growth that has shaped it.
As a participatory action research method, photovoice mapping as a methodology in the planning process, has potential to include people from diverse backgrounds. It enables community members to anonymously express their lived experiences and perceptions of place. It proved to be an effective tool for highlighting the intricate dynamics of multi-governance, multi-scalar and multi-boundary challenges that face neighbourhood planning and for stressing the need for ongoing commitment to collaborative and creative practices in future projects.
| Keywords | Photovoice, Neighbourhood Planning, Participatory Research, Participatory Mapping, Diversity |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
