Dear  Gunes, Cigdem and Chris,

Cigdem raises a important issue based on Gunes query that is central to
design and design research and yet I've never seen raised on this list. 

"Is Culture a positive of a negative factor in design, and why?"

Thinking about what what Cigdem raised seems to me to be pretty  complex. Is
culture the 'will of the people writ large' (as in a collection of social
practices); 'a powerful and subtle tool of the rich and powerful to
condition people to behave in ways that enable the rich and powerful to
increase their wealth and power'; something else...? 

Should designers build on culture, suck up to it....?  

Does the lazy enactment of cultural practice block improvements to human
development?

I'd welcome people's thoughts

Best,

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 Cigdem
Kaya
Sent: Wednesday, 15 April 2009 1:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: a democratic design process (?)

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