How do you approach Urban Design from a human-centered and user-oriented perspective?

To start, we can gather feedback from the community through surveys, workshops, and public meetings to understand their desires and challenges. Then we can design spaces that ensure accessibility, safety, and comfort, making public areas walkable, well-lit, and inclusive for all ages and abilities. Additionally, we incorporate green spaces, social areas, and amenities that encourage community interaction. By emphasizing user experience and engagement, we create urban environments that are vibrant, functional, and reflective of the community's identity and needs.

Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.” ~ Thich Naht Hahn The street is the first place we explore the world outside of our nest, our casas. As infants and as children it is our fairy tale trail with family , teachers, and caregivers. It is our gateway, pathway, access, and survival. The street has been our cultural avenue since we decided to settle together, live, and worship counting the sun and moon, cultivating the seeds of Mother Earth and drops and tears of heavens. The street is the place of protest, revolution, civic discord and order, the arena where the supermajority flow to make their voice known and heard. It is our most prominent place of tradition, teaching, approach toward happiness, and path to enlightenment.

In my human-centered approach to Urban Design, understanding the community context is paramount. I immerse myself in local culture, history, and daily life, ensuring that the design reflects and respects the unique identity of the area. Community engagement is a cornerstone, involving residents in surveys, workshops, and interactive sessions. By prioritizing inclusivity and considering diverse needs, I create designs that cater to various demographics. Functionality and sustainability are key, aligning the design with the natural flow of human activities and fostering a resilient, eco-friendly future.

Pelo menos 6 estratégias devem ser consideradas: 1. Redução do espaço para veículos motorizados; 2. Calçadas amplas e atrativas; 3. Ciclovias e ciclofaixas segregadas; 4. Aumento da acessibilidade; 5. Integração com o transporte público e; 6. Priorização de ruas residenciais.

The first step always comes from the street. It is the seed of the city and the community: the streets can give us many clues about how space is appropriated and used, and about social relations. Empty, lifeless streets already sound the emergency alarm for action!

Everyone should be included in the public consultation process. Urban Designers should ensure that those who are often under-represented in the town planning and design process, for example, children and young people, are given meaningful opportunities to express their views. In that regard, school outeaching projects, are considered effective in ensuring children and young people have a solid platform to engage in the planning and design of new developments. Achieving the top rung of Arstein's Ladder of Citizen Participation should be considered as a priority in any form of public consultation, this is to ensure inclusion and diversity, and to avoid tokenism.

Increase system wide alignment across the education system, community engagement organizations, and government agencies to collaborate on all dimensions of human development: physical, nutritional, mental health; cognitive development, social and emotional skills. It is important to develop new physical spaces and renovate existing ones to support cluster development and guide neighborhood capacity building. To adapt to The post pandemic situation neighborhoods and communities must form sector-based partnerships as well as regional workforce partners to create apprenticeships and neighborhood development programs

Emphasizing the iterative nature of the process, where feedback and dialogue play crucial roles in refining and evolving the vision to genuinely represent the collective aspirations of the community. In essence, vision-setting becomes a dynamic and participatory endeavor rather than a top-down imposition.

Want two examples of a powerful vision? 1."We want to create a city where every street, square and corner is an invitation to walk, rest and interact. A city that breathes inclusion and ease of mobility for everyone - from the child who rides a bike to the elderly person who needs a break along the way.’ 2."We want a street that learns from its users, offering spaces for coexistence, interactivity and safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. A street where technology and design work together to improve quality of life.’

Healthy Life Expectations” Street Jazz The first objective for the community as a comprehensive foot corridor system must be to build human capacity and development as a support infrastructure to focus on the whole neighborhood OBJECTIVE ONE Increase system wide alignment across the education system, community engagement organizations, and government agencies to collaborate on all dimensions of human development: physical, nutritional, mental health; cognitive development, social and emotional skills. It is important to develop new physical spaces and renovate existing ones to support cluster development and guide neighborhood capacity building.To adapt to The post pandemic situation neighborhoods and communities must form equity partners.

Generating alternatives is like being an ‘urban chef’. We have the ingredients (people's needs and desires), and the secret is how to combine them to create different recipes. We can emphasise socialising, sports, fresh air or landscapes, for example, but I would say that the safest way is to provide multi-purpose spaces that can fulfil different objectives

OBJECTIVE ONE Leverage strengths in Gender, Ethnic, Vulnerables, and Minority Diversity as the Supermajority OBJECTIVE TWO Increase access to affordable shared spaces to assist entrepreneurs, inventors, and makers (saves on energy consumption) OBJECTIVE THREE Target Passive energy assets to activate applied research, development, and commercialization activities in key growth areas OBJECTIVE FOUR Stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship to address key Green environmental challenges in local communities in a way that also creates the development of new locally consumed import-export industries.

To transmit a ‘Perfect Street’ project, the ideal combination of alternatives: a) Interactive Map Design; b) Realistic Rendering; c) On-site Prototyping This could include happy pedestrians with puppies to make a positive impression in options a and b (always works), and a tactical urbanism action in option c.

Fostering a sense of ownership in building public spaces by involving the community in the construction process establishes a deep connection between the community and the environment they inhabit, leading to more vibrant, relevant, and sustainable public spaces. For instance, involving the public in the planting process allows them to contribute by owning & suggesting names for the plants. By scanning the QR code on the plants, individuals can access information about the plants' growth at any time, fostering a greater sense of connection and encouraging ongoing care for the plants.

Firstly, you need to put together the ‘head’ team, who will be the project strategists. Then there's the team that gets to work and the fuel for that team, which is funding. After that, the key to success is communication! Designers need to be in tune with regulators, contractors need to ensure that deadlines are being met, and the community needs to know what's going on.

"Human-centered" is a very scary word when it comes to city-making. It reinforces a divide between us (people) and everything else (plants, animals, water systems, micro-organisms, etc.). HUMANS shouldn't be the center of the design. BALANCE should. That's a much more comprehensive and effective approach towards well-being in cities.

The focus on "urban" development completely ignores the fact that there "rural" communities in the UK, as captured in the Town & Country Planning Act of 1947. Whilst some planning themes are applicable to both types, rural communities do require different considerations, especially when it comes to transport, and infrastructure provision due to the more sparse population than in towns/cities. The planning industry needs to stop imposing "urban" principles on rural areas, as the characteristics are different.

It is common sense to create communities that encourage neighborhood and family structures to support each other so that members find a balance of creativity, engaging work, rewarding play, and supportive relationships. This enables all community members to develop self-confidence through adversity and find the building blocks of happiness through these challenging times. It is our mission to assist communities to create the happiest streets, paths, trails within their neighborhoods. It is true the Happiest Places create the Happiest People. This is not a political statement; it is a science. It is a lift, invisible or not, we can give to each other which costs us nothing! Lisa Tejeda

The city is a place where a great number of forces come into contact, often in conflicting ways. This includes population density and mobility, as well as the balance between public and private spaces. The city is a complex organism, and the interaction of these forces creates a unique experience for its inhabitants. As such, there is no single solution to balance these forces. Instead, cities must constantly adapt and evolve to meet the needs of their inhabitants and create a prosperous and dynamic environment.

Designing an urban space it should not just be seen as for people, but with them. That's at the core of the approach to urban design. Prioritize understanding the needs, aspirations, and daily routines of the people who will inhabit the space. This means actively listening to the community through surveys, workshops, and even public sessions. Explore hopes for the space, what makes them the users feel connected, and what challenges they face. Then, translate these insights into design solutions that prioritize accessibility, walkability, and a sense of community. Ultimately, the goal is to create vibrant, user-friendly spaces that truly empower people to thrive.

I like grand opening events, inviting everyone to try out the new space. Especially when we involve cyclists testing a new cycle path, we can ask for feedback and adjust the project before anything goes wrong