This is more or less Ezio Manzini's project; using
design to 'amplify' existing community-level sus-
tainable living initiatives. Amplification happens
directly - the designer service-redesigning an
existing 'creative community' initiative in order
to make it more resilient - and indirectly - having
service-redesigned on a creative community initia-
tive, the designer will then have a 'model,' and
perhaps also some tools, to then offer to other
communities to replicate. In some cases, the
service-redesign work will identify barriers to
how the community is trying to live that should
be rectified by policy changes (where design's
workarounds prove insufficient). For example,
sharing, of housing, cars, childcare, backyard
food production, can be facilitated by design
(e.g., scheduling tools), but often also needs
policy-led enablement (promoting insurance for
shared-goods, altered liability for community
organizations, entry and exit processes for
joint ownership). On all this, see the very
nice new NoLo text: _The Sharing Solution_
http://www.sharingsolution.com/

A very nice example of how to resource these
sorts of community initiatives is the IOBY
project here in New York:
http://www.ioby.org/

On Ezio's work see:
www.sustainable-everyday.net

Cameron Tonkinwise 


On 7/17/09 3:34 PM, "Jean Schneider" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> For the yearly conference that I am organising each January, I would
> like to organise a session that would focus on design activities that
> occur at rather low levels, such as communities.
> 
> The point I wish to put into discussion is, roughly said, the
> following : most design policies tend to be driven by economical
> considerations and support actions tend to be "top-down" (actions are
> defined using rather ex-ante criteria, set from governments towards
> the players themselves).
> Now, I want to figure out whether there is a viable alternative (in
> terms of policy making) to start from existing actions, set up by
> whatever organisation (NGO, cooperative, voluntary networks), and
> figure out whether it would not be effective to either inject some
> funds, structural support, or demultiply them in different contexts.
> 
> I know that this happens in communities, mostly when it comes to
> local urban planning or architecture. And I shall take here design in
> a broad sense as well.
> 
> What I am asking you to help me with is directions towards cases,
> examples, that you might know or have heard of.
> 
> You could mail me off list. If other people are interested, I will
> compile the information and post it back to the list.
> 
> Best regards and thanks in advance,
> 
> Jean
> 
> Jean Schneider
> Chargé de projet APCI / Project manager APCI
> [log in to unmask]  +33(0)661 350 357
> www.apci.asso.fr