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Week 3 Tutorial Prep

Weekly Briefing: Design and the City – An Australian View

How do you feel about Australia? Do you feel a precarious future for Australia?

I feel that Australia has a precarious future at the moment particularly because the current Liberal Government does not seem to be concerned about lowering carbon emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change. This uncertainness became a stark reality during the 2019/2020 Australian bushfires which saw 830 tonnes of carbon released into the atmosphere and one fifth of the country’s forests destroyed - along with the native animals inhabiting those areas.

As a mostly younger generation, what futures would you like to see, and does the CSIRO Outlook Report 'outlook visions' adequately address your own 'visions'?

The CSIRO Outlook Report ‘outlook visions’ are somewhat encouraging as I tend to take on a rather nihilistic view of the future of the world in the face of climate change. In the future I would like to see the government invest more in sustainable and renewable energy so that the younger generations can have a prosperous future. The CSIRO report could also provide more information on how individuals can help to achieve the ‘outlook visions’ that they have suggested. The report also did not take into considerations global pandemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic which is being experienced on a global level at present.

Re-imagine the Future – Angela Oguntala

https://youtu.be/dB-BGlAqeDc

How is Angela suggesting we think of futures differently?

Angela suggests that there are many different ways to think about the future. She argues that how we think of the future affects how we behave in the present. For example, you may think that the world is going to end soon so you start preparing (e.g. modifying your house, storing supplies of food and toilet paper). Visions from Hollywood and tech companies also influence how we envision the future, and in doing so the future may become a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, if we think that there are many possible futures then this gives us permission to imagine what the future may be. It also gives us permission to experiment and come up with ways to help solve wicked problems (i.e. an outlook vision) - rather than being overwhelmed by apocalyptic visions of the future, which inhibits our ability to imagine positive design solutions.

Read in detail '4.2 Urban Shifts World Class Cities' on pages 40–50. Peruse through other parts of the document where you like.

What are two key insights from the report that relate to your topic?

Two key points from the report that relate to my topic of ‘energy’ are:

1. Governments need to nurture new urban centres to provide attractive mixes of housing, employment, amenities, green spaces and connectivity for a growing population.

2. By 2060, electric vehicles will make up over 80% of new vehicle sales and this will help to decarbonise Australia’s transport sector and meet international emission targets.

How might your developing ideas be inspired by and follow an outlook vision, as summarised on p.27?

My ideas can be inspired by the outlook vision summarised below because I am interested in how energy can be conserved by creating more green spaces in urban centres. In particular, my topic relates to the topic of land shift as it focuses on how land can be adapted to create a more healthy ecosystem. Introducing fruit and vegetable crops and Indigenous food sources into these green spaces will help reduce the need for transporting food (thereby reducing carbon emissions) and encourage community engagement. In particular, incorporating native plants into the fabric of the city will also allow people to better engage more with the Indigenous culture of the area and sustainable Indigenous land practices, which have existed long before urban development.

How can you map some insights into your mapping in class this week?

By creating more green spaces in urban centres and switching to electric vehicles, Australia will be able to help mitigate the effects of climate change. Therefore, energy is directly connected to green spaces, electric vehicles and government regulations - which dictate how these changes can be implemented. This shows that there is a strong link between energy, transport, ecology and government, which can be included in my mapping this week.

Design Lab Website

Paper Giant: https://www.papergiant.net/

What example project in the site similar to your topic, might you learn from and be inspired by?

I am interested in the topic of ‘Exploring Indigenous Identity through Design’ and how it relates to my topic of energy. In this project researchers from the University of Melbourne and RMIT teamed up to build a set of tools for Indigenous Australians to help them self-govern and self-determine their own futures in a colonised landscapes. Creating green spaces for Indigenous gardens and farms within urban centres would help Indigenous people to connect with their now colonised landscape. This kind of project has already occurred in Sydney, where Australia’s first Indigenous rooftop farm has been established on top of a Mirvac office block in the inner-Sydney suburb of Eveleigh (https://www.yerrabingin.com.au/).

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Week 2 Tutorial

In small groups, explore making connections across the system map above. What kind of patterns are emerging that can act as a starting point for further research into your topic?

During the Week 2 tutorial, we worked in groups to create connections within the mind map of ‘Design Roles in the City as a System’. We discovered that many of the key issues are interrelated. For example, the topic of interest to me is energy and it relates to the topic of waste because they both affect the ecosystem. Furthermore, energy also relates to the topic of transport because most automobiles use fuel (a form of waste) to operate. Therefore, energy could be related to both the effects of waste on the ecosystem and the future of fuel (which could be switched to electricity) as electric vehicles become more affordable in the future.

Using miro.com, paper or a tablet, create your own individual systems map for your research topic. Use the outcomes of the previous step to help direct your map.

What are some suitable project management platforms and tools that might help you organise your work in this course?

Some suitable project management platforms and tools to help organise work in this course: Microsoft Onenote, Microsoft Teams, Trello and Google docs.

Organising your workflow:

For this course I have decided to use tumblr to organise my Weekly Reflective Journal. In the future, I would also like to learn how to use InDesign as I think this is a crucial tool for becoming a professional designer which is my long-term goal. My Weekly Reflective journal will contain my tutorial preparations, tutorial tasks, notes and to-do lists relating to my research and links to relevant websites, videos and lectures. I will manage my journal by uploading each week and keeping on top of the weekly tasks.

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Week 2

For preparation this week, we were required to watch the following video:

https://vimeo.com/128435755

Which way/s of designing that Yoko describes might be required to tackle your topic?

Yoko’s practice is motivated by human-centred design, which places people at the heart of the design process. Over the last 10 years, there has been a move away from designing products to designing processes such as experiences, social relations, value systems and networks. These factors are all interrelated which makes the design process more complex.

In my topic, I would like to use human-centred design to consider how people are affected by climate change within the urban centre of Brisbane and how my design could be used to help mitigate these affects. Climate change is an example of a super wicked problem. According to Yoko, a disaster is a super wicked problem which require a collective effort from all people, and there is no one product and service that can solve a super wicked problem. Therefore, it will be possible to come up with several different services to help reduce the effects of climate change and prevent Brisbane from becoming more and more of an urban heat island.

For the Week 2 tutorial we were also required to read the following source:

What are two key insights from the report that relate to your topic?

I am interested in the topic of energy and therefore two key insights from the report are:

1. Climate change is a super wicked problem which threatens the future of the planet. The world has already warmed by 1.0°C since before the industrial revolution due to human activities.

2. To adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change, cities will need to implement changes on a number of geophysical, environmental, ecological, technological, economic, social, cultural and institutional levels.

How have the designed diagrams, images and overall look and feel of the report enabled a better understanding of the report?

The diagrams in the report are  well-formatted and east to digest, enabling the reader to absorb key points within the information quickly and easily. The images contribute to a fresh and aesthetically-pleasing design. In particular, the images of greenery encourage the reader to take on an outlook vision. The overall look of the report is professional, well-designed and positive, thereby encouraging positive change rather than overwhelming the reader with the fact that global warming is a super wicked problem that may never be resolved.

Final task:

https://www.strategicdesignscenarios.net/

What example project in the site similar to your topic, might you learn from and be inspired by?

On the Strategic Design Scenario website I am interested in the topic of co-gardening, which relates to my topic of energy as it allows for more green space to be utilised within urban centres. This project of urban agriculture in the city allows people to utilise and share unexploited gardens. This project took place within the European city of Brussels and enabled people who perhaps did not have access to green spaces to share gardens with other inhabitants of the city. For further information on the project see:

https://www.strategicdesignscenarios.net/cojardinagecogardening/

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Week 1 Reflection

Following the Week 1 tutorial, I began to do some research into the topics that interested me most from the WEForum website and how they relate to my home city of Brisbane. After some preliminary research, I decided to focus on the role of energy in creating a sustainable future for the subtropical capital of Queensland.

I am particularly interested in how green spaces can be used to help mitigate the effects of climate change. By creating more green spaces in the urban centre of Brisbane it would be possible to stop the city from becoming more and more of an urban heat island. For example, rooftop and vertical gardens could be implemented to reduce the inside temperature of city buildings and thereby reduce the need for air-conditioning and lowering carbon emissions. Furthermore, such green spaces could provide opportunities to plant more native species and vegetation which would survive in the Brisbane climate and also provide opportunities to grow indigenous food sources within the urban centre.

Some examples of preliminary research I found include:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837716313138

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/planning-guidelines-and-tools/brisbanes-future-blueprint/principle-2-protect-and-create-greenspace

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/26/edible-medicinal-or-cultural-first-indigenous-rooftop-farm-opens-in-sydney

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Week 1 Tutorial

https://intelligence.weforum.org/

Choosing a research topic: The WEF offers “Strategic insights and contextual intelligence from the World Economic Forum”. It lets users “explore and monitor the issues and forces driving transformational change across economies, industries, and global issues”.

During the Week 1 tutorial I explored the World Economic Forum website to discover some design issues I am interested in for the major assessment. I was interested in a number of different areas including: autonomous transport, energy, food, arts and culture.

Here are some screenshots from the WEF website:

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WEEK 1

AUS NAT Outlook 2019, GEHL Liveable Cities, Ramia Maze

In the Week 1 tutorial we were required to watch 3 different videos and comment on their similarities:

AUS NAT Outlook 2019: https://www.csiro.au/en/Showcase/ANO

GEHL Liveable Cities (START 8:38, FINISH 14:50): https://youtu.be/4ODzOv5OH6s?t=518

Ramia Maze: https://youtu.be/FE-90L69TT0

The first video on the Australia National Outlook aims to provide a broad and compelling view of Australia’s roadmap to 2060.

Australia needs to consider six global and national challenges: the rise of Asia, technological change, climate change and the environment, demographics, trust and social cohesion.

How Australia responds to these challenges will determine the country’s future. Australia can have a prosperous and sustainable future if it takes on an outlook vision (rather than falling into a slow decline).

According to the video, Australia needs to take action in five key shifts: industry shift, urban shift (smarter urban design), energy shift (to lower emissions), land shift (to sustainable land management), and cultural shift (redefine national culture by installing trust in our institutions).

To achieve these shifts, Australia needs novel thinking, a range of expertise, and organisations working together across the nation.

The second video focuses on designing liveable cities for the future. The video focuses on futurism as the speaker is interested in how cities will look in the future as opposed to the past. 

The image he shows of a future city predicts that there will be more structures holding vegetation. He also talks about predictions of automatic cars, helicopters and drones. 

The speaker questions the hype around the term ‘smart cities’. He is very negative about images of futurist cities (found in a google search) as he argues that these places do not look liveable and do not look family friendly. 

He says it’s just architects doodling on paper and showing how fantastic they can make the shapes without real-world constraints. The speaker argues that the world’s problems will not be solved by expensive technology because the most pressing problems lie in the urban growth of cities in the world (e.g. Africa and South East Asia) where a lot of people live in slums and cannot afford expensive technology.’

The presenter in the third video is Professor Ramia Maze from Aalto University in Finland. Her parents are artists and she grew up making things (e.g. her clothes, the dinner table, and so on).

The speaker considers how design changes how you look at the world and how design can change the world. Design has always been closely attached to the industrial revolution and Information Technology but today design addresses more profound societal questions including: sustainable design, accessible design, healthcare design, design for government.

There is a wide range of design practices that have bigger questions - social, political and environmental questions that need different approaches.

How do you think the three videos relate to one another?

These three videos are similar in that they consider how design will shape the future of human civilisation on a local and global scale. The videos share an interest in futurism and how design can be used to solve social, political and environmental problems that the human population will face as a result of urban growth. In doing so, they consider the tools necessary for designing cities in the future that are sustainable, accessible, cultural and which provide a healthy environment for people to live in.