Hello Gunes,
Last year, I too signed the petition for the ferries not to be changed
with the 'modern ones'.
However, my first ride made me thoughtful because it was unexpectedly
easier to get on and get off. The structured seemed new and well
engineered. Thus my observations are made through the eyes of a
designer who happens to be one of the plain passengers.Yes, it might
be deceptive. Our understanding of safety on water might be as shallow
as 'being stable' rather than a rough ride.
About involving the passengers to the decision making process in
design... Referring to my first ride, i was wonderous about how people
would find another way of keeping their daily habit of feeding the
gulls no matter what kind of a *designed* vehicle they ride in. In
other words, how does this upgrade of technology evolve the everday
habits of the passengers as opposed to designing in regard to protect
the present cultural richness? It seems like it will be very exciting
to watch how everyday social practices survive as a resistance no
matter what the design of the ferry is like. I know there is a giant
literature on culture as resistance but I wont be able to name any on
top of my head right now.
Thank you for bringing up the issue.
Cigdem
Alinti gunes tavmen <[log in to unmask]>
> That's exactly the point Çiğdem. Nobody is against the safe ride, however
> there should be a better way to preserve some cultural richness while you
> enhance the security.
>
> As a matter of fact, I am also curious how you decided they are safer.
> Because in the big southeast wind when those new ferries started to operate,
> they weren't able to ride as the old ones did. And possibly you know
> seabuses are the most effected ones from those winds as well, though they
> are considered to be "more modern" and "technologically advanced". Feeling
> of safeness can be deceptive sometimes... (By the way in some ways they
> might be safer but all we can say is 'might', nobody actually really knows)
>
> Yet again thanks a lot for your responses...
>
> Güneş
>
>
> 14 Nisan 2009 Salı 01:44 tarihinde Cigdem Kaya <[log in to unmask]> yazdı:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I can't help but say a word about the new ferries of Istanbul. Born and
>> raised in Istanbul, I used to cross the Bosphorus twice, every single day,
>> with the ferry between home and school for a long time.
>> It's funny... today I had my first ride in the "new" ferry after being
>> abroad for three months.
>> I guess it is the first time that I didnt worry about sitting by the door
>> so that it is easier to jump off to the water in case of a disaster which
>> seemed quite possible in those very beautiful but very tired ferries.
>> I have not thought about the design of the new ferries and I dont think
>> they are *designed* at all. But I have experienced that they are definitely
>> safer. That was not an aspect that I thought mattered that much until
>> today's ride.
>> If you ride it for fun, it is nostalgic and very representative of the city
>> However, if you have to ride it twice a day the experience seems to change
>> so much! Thus, safety was a priority for me.
>> Best,
>> Cigdem
>>
>> Alinti gunes tavmen <[log in to unmask]>
>>
>>
>> First of all thanks a lot to everyone for your quick and helpfull replies.
>>>
>>> The point is, in that case I take public transportation as a case study,
>>> so
>>> what I had focused was the concept of 'democracy and design' or 'politics
>>> and design'. Maybe I should be giving more details on that particular
>>> case;
>>> these vapurettes they 'renewed' are in a way symbol of Istanbul and are
>>> very
>>> strong cultural representations. Unlike any other transportation means
>>> available here, there are some special social habits attached to those
>>> like
>>> feeding seagulls, drinking tea on the terrace etc. So it seems or at
>>> least
>>> seemed to me, the question here is a bit different than a general
>>> transportation planning.
>>>
>>> As a person who has studied 'science and technology studies - STS', I was
>>> expecting to find a debate on the problem of determining the 'experts'
>>> when
>>> society is involved in a design process. In STS, the question of 'who
>>> should
>>> be and/or are involved and to what extent' is a very big question, and I
>>> was
>>> kind of trying to apply that into design. Terry, I would appreciate if you
>>> could provide those references you have mentioned although I believe none
>>> of
>>> those techniques are applied in my city.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Güneş
>>>
>>>
>>> 2009/4/13 Terence Love <[log in to unmask]>
>>>
>>> Dear Gunes,
>>>>
>>>> There is a large literature on this topic since the second world war (and
>>>> before).
>>>>
>>>> You could begin with a simple search on Google such as "community
>>>> participation transport planning". The first 500 or so web pages should
>>>> give you a start!
>>>>
>>>> You might also find it conceptually useful and good fun to read Illich's
>>>> work on transport conviviality and his book Energy and Equity.
>>>>
>>>> Also be aware that there a significant amount of work ( mainly form the
>>>> 1980s and now hard to get hold of) seriously criticizing the
>>>> participation
>>>> and collaboration techniques used by planners and designers. Many of
>>>> these
>>>> techniques are in use currently and uncritically regarded as
>>>> unproblematic
>>>> by current planners and designers who are unaware of the deep criticisms
>>>> of
>>>> them and the failure of the techniques in terms of equity, ethics and
>>>> succesful outcomes. If you want, I can provide some references.
>>>>
>>>> Good luck,
>>>>
>>>> Terry
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
>>>> research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of gunes
>>>> tavmen
>>>> Sent: Monday, 13 April 2009 4:19 AM
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Subject: a democratic design process (?)
>>>>
>>>> Dear List-followers,
>>>> I am currently working on a question of 'whether the proess of public
>>>> transportation design can be AND/OR should be democratic and
>>>> participative?'. It is quite difficult to find references about the
>>>> 'design
>>>> and politics' issue whereas there is a long debate on the 'politics of
>>>> artefacts' from the technological point of view. There are many works on
>>>> politics of technology and the debate of participants, decision-makers
>>>> and
>>>> the recipients, however I haven't found the same depth in terms of
>>>> design.
>>>>
>>>> My investigation started with the municipality intervention on the sea
>>>> transportation in Istanbul that is a vital component of daily life of
>>>> many
>>>> people. With the purpose of 'renewal' of a very characteristic
>>>> transportation means of Istanbul (they are even considered to be
>>>> 'cultural
>>>> heritage'), the municipality had planned a drastic change to which some
>>>> civil groups opposed quite strongly. So as an answer to the resistance,
>>>> the
>>>> municipality carried out a sort of online questionare with several design
>>>> options which was a very lame one in many ways. I don't want to get into
>>>> details here and rather keep it simple; consequently I ended up asking,
>>>> is
>>>> there any way to pursue such an operation that effects public so
>>>> intensely,
>>>> in a participative way? Or should the process be participative and
>>>> democratic anyway? Who are the actors, to what extent and by which way
>>>> should they be involved?
>>>>
>>>> In my opinion, the question of 'design and democracy' applies to public
>>>> transportation quite well since it primarily effects society very
>>>> closely.
>>>> So if you know any references to suggest, I would be very glad...
>>>>
>>>> Thanks in advance and best wishes,
>>>> Gunes Tavmen
>>>> PhD Student, ITU
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Research Assistant
>> Department of Industrial Product Design
>> Istanbul Technical University
>> Taskisla, Istanbul 34437, Turkey
>>
>> t. 0212 2931310 x 2824
>>
>> f. 0212 2514895
>> w. www.tasarim.itu.edu.tr
>>
>
--
Research Assistant
Department of Industrial Product Design
Istanbul Technical University
Taskisla, Istanbul 34437, Turkey
t. 0212 2931310 x 2824
f. 0212 2514895
w. www.tasarim.itu.edu.tr
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