The website ‘Key Enabling Methodologies’ for creative professionals provides an extensive case study of the work Stby has done with the municipality of Amsterdam over the past 8 years. The Straatlab method is central to this. Below is a brief summary introduction, with a link to the complete case study (in Dutch).
Thinking together about the future of mobility and public space
Complex social challenges require open, exploratory and constructive conversations between various stakeholders. How do you, as a municipality, and as a society, move beyond traditional consultation evenings? How do you start talking to each other earlier and more constructively? The Streetlab method offers a future-oriented approach to think together about new solutions for more sustainable ways of mobility and design of public space.
The central starting point of each of the Streetlab projects is the municipality’s desire to explore what the wishes, expectations and preferences of the residents, entrepreneurs and visitors are with regard to sustainable mobility and joint use of public space. Policy-wise, some frameworks have usually been established, but within these there are certainly still choices to be made and preferences that have joint support can be responded to.
Be more proactive in discussing desired improvements
The traditional method of first developing plans and then holding a consultation evening is not satisfactory and is not sufficient for this. Both sides would like to have discussions at an earlier stage and more proactively in order to arrive at appealing solutions. Some projects are focused on an upcoming and major redesign of a specific street or neighborhood, while other projects focus on improving busy hotspots in the city. Sometimes it is about creating more space for pedestrians in narrow streets, sometimes about finding better solutions for bicycle and car parking in busy neighborhoods, and sometimes about creating more opportunities for greenery, playing, staying and meeting.
Amsterdam is in this way working on a step-by-step transition to make the use of public space more humane, cleaner and safer and would like everyone to be part of the consultation on this. This is not about rolling out a detailed blueprint, but about specifying precise plans within broad policy frameworks. The most important dilemmas are not small trivial design issues, but strategic considerations that are part of a broader transition regarding sustainable and healthy use of public space in the city. The municipality would like to receive input and consultation from stakeholders on this, rather than making unilateral, top-down decisions.
STBY has developed an approach for these projects that we have called ‘Streetlabs’. The Key Enabling Methodologies (KEMs) playing a central role in this approach are:
- Participation & Co-creation (Participatory Research & Participatory Design)
- Vision & Imagination (Storytelling & Visualising)
- System Change (Pragmatic Reflexivity & dialogic Design)
For more information about the Street Lab Method and examples of the projects, see the extensive case study on the website about Key Enabling Methodologies for creative professionals (in Dutch).
