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Creative communities, creative assets: exploring methods of mapping community assets
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How to cite:
Greene, Catherine; Alevizou, Giota; Ramster, Gail; Alexiou, Katerina; Zamenopoulos, Theo; Outten, Alan and Corzannelli, Cristina (2013). Creative communities, creative assets: exploring methods of mapping community assets. In: Nordes2013: Experiments in Design Research: Expressions, Knowledge, Critique, 9-12 Jun 2013, Copenhagen, Denmark/Malmö, Sweden.
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c 2013 The Contributors
Version: Accepted Manuscript
Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://nordes.org/nordes2013/
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CATHERINE GREENE GIOTA ALEVIZOU ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART THE OPEN UNIVERSITY [email protected] [email protected]
GAIL RAMSTER ALAN OUTTEN ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART [email protected] [email protected]
KATERINA ALEXIOU THE OPEN UNIVERSITY CRISTINA GORZANELLI [email protected] UNIVERSITY OF GENOA [email protected] THEO ZAMENOPOULOS THE OPEN UNIVERSITY [email protected]
demonstrate the ways in which asset mapping has ABSTRACT been used with community groups within an area Asset mapping, a method for unearthing and or neighbourhood in the Creative Citizens research visually representing an individual’s or a project - a project which explores how different community's assets, has been used in the context of types of creativity and civic engagement intersect planning and creative industries. to add value to communities in the context of a The goal of this workshop is to bring together radically changing media landscape. stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and INTRODUCTION practices to discuss and generate outcomes that Asset mapping is a way of unearthing and visually make use of different perspectives of asset representing the assets of an individual or community. As a methodology, asset mapping emerged out of the mapping methodologies. principle of Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD): the premise that communities will be better At the core of activities, facilitators will equipped to develop if they can identify and mobilise
Nordic Design Research Conference 2013, Copenhagen-Malmö, www.nordes.org 1 the assets they already have. By recognising their assets, PURPOSE OF THE WORKSHOP a community can then focus on positive development, The purpose of this workshop is twofold: first, to share responding to, building and expanding upon existing the asset mapping methodology being developed on the capabilities (which often go unrecognized), rather than Creative Citizen project and gain advice and peer focusing on what it lacks or needs (Mathie and review about the instruments being used to record Cunningham 2002, McKnight and Kretzmann 1996). assets, the methods to analyse and present to When discussing ‘community’, ABCD focuses mostly communities and the opportunities and challenges for on geographical communities, including communities of sustaining creative engagement and participatory interest that exist within a locality. curation of outputs, through physical, social and online The Creative Citizens research project has developed media and tools. Second, to provide participants with asset mapping as a core methodology for use with opportunities to interact with stakeholders from diverse community groups in the ‘Communjty-led Design’ backgrounds and practices—researchers, practitioners, strand of research (see http://creativecitizens.co.uk/). designers, programmers, planners and design The project explores how different types of creative ethnographers—and together generate tangible citizenship add value to communities, within the context outcomes that can utilise the diverse perspectives of of a radically changing media landscape that enables asset mapping methodologies. new forms civic engagement, participation and A draft programme for a half day workshop is presented expression. below. In the ‘Community-led Design’ strand, we refer The programme will be adapted on the basis of specifically to projects where local people come participants’ numbers and profiles. Alternative asset together to redesign spaces and services in their mapping methodologies developed by participants are neighbourhood, such as starting an allotment, providing welcomed, and opportunities to share these will be services for young people, or opening up old buildings including in the first or second activity, depending on as a community hub. numbers and the nature of the methodology proposed. By co-creating digital media interventions with the HALF DAY PROGRAMME community groups, Creative Citizens will explore how this technology can be used to creatively engage more Introduction to asset mapping and its 20 mins people in community-led design. As well as being of purposes in the context of the Creative benefit to the community group, asset mapping will be Citizens ‘Community-led design’ project used by the researchers to help articulate the value Participatory Activity 1: Participants will 60 mins generated by these co-created media interventions, as a divide in groups and work together to way of evaluating impact. create posters in order to 'make the case The process for developing the asset-mapping for the role of asset mapping in methodology has involved an extensive literature search community-led design' in order to understand existing and emerging forms of Presentation of posters to the group 20 mins asset mapping, and a series of expert interviews with community leaders, facilitators and public engagement Break 20 mins practitioners, as well as pilot workshops with Activity 2: Role Play: Participants will 60 mins community groups. divide in groups and assume roles within The resulting methodology focuses on mapping assets at different types of community groups to the level of both the community project and the engage in mapping group assets and participating individual using a suite of visual tools to relationships using proposed asset unearth assets such as people’s relationships and skills, mapping methodology and the project’s connections with spaces, organisations Discussion: Reflecting on the process and 30 mins and infrastructure. Due to the context of the changing feedback media landscape, the methodology also captures the assets held by the community in terms of their online and offline media use. HOW ATTENDEES WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR WORKSHOP The Creative Citizens asset mapping methodology also captures the relative current and potential value of each Any attendees who wish to participate will be able to asset to the community project, the nature of this value sign-up for this event subject to a maximum capacity of (such as social, financial, environmental) and its 20. Interested participants are invited to submit an one – relationship to other assets. A second level of analysis is two page profile that describes: their current / past work achieved through individual asset mapping with each of and interests related to the workshop's theme; how the the participant, to identify the true relationships between workshop will benefit their work; and what they can participants and the proposed assets, and how this contribute to the workshop. Participants who have compares with the group’s perspective of the ‘project’. personal experience of developing asset mapping
2 methodologies are invited to describe their own REFERENCES approach, so that room can be made in the timetable for Mathie, A. and Cunningham, G. (2002) ‘From clients to comparative discussions. citizens: Asset-based community development as a strategy for community-driven development’ The REQUIREMENTS FOR PHYSICAL SETTING Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier The workshop will require tables and chairs that can University, accommodate groups of 4-6 people working together, http://www.coady.stfx.ca/resources/publications/publica and a projector. tions_occasional_citizens.html
MATERIALS McKnight, J. and Kretzmann, J. (1996) ‘Mapping All materials (paper, pens, objects, stickers) will be community capacity’ Institute for Policy Research, provided by the workshop organisers. Northwestern University
CONTACT DETAILS To sign up for this workshop, please email Gail Ramster at [email protected]
Nordic Design Research Conference 2013, Copenhagen-Malmö, www.nordes.org 3