Short note about issue 1, "Tools for participatory planning with children and youth".

When shall children and youth learn and practise participation when they don`t focus on this in the school? My experience: Children and youth participating in planning outdoor environment in schools and neigbourhood, and participating in the practical realisation, and children and youth participating in developing "Child and Youth Plans" in the local society, connected to the municipality planning work.

Some methods/tools I have used for participatory planning:

1) Environmental analysis in actual target groups. Comparative analysis in time and space: before and now, here and there. New general understanding.

2) Visual communication. Dias series (slides programs) To see common problems and to get inspiration how to solve the problems. "How to use dias-series in participation processes".

3) Surveys/excursions. With or without children. With or without parents or other adults (teachers etc). In the neighbourhoods or in other local societies.

4) Informative questionnaires. With drawings/pictures. Always combined with slides programs and dialogues through these.

5) The "Work-Book Method". Description in English and German.

6) Modelproduction. Analysis, learning processes connected to modelproduction.

7) Teaching map-reading. Mapping.

8) "Example actions". Example actions are "small pilot projects" reflecting main intensions in greater projects.

9) Processdocumentation. Methods and tools for action resaerch: Running feed-back etc. Exhibitions etc.

 

 

 

Short note about issue 4, "Children and space".

1) "Movements in space". Children move in space in ways adults often are unable to foresee - children need to use the whole body: climb, hang and swing, balance, roll, crawl and run etc. - movement patterns on different stages - physical display and "work off" - children need to alternate between sedentary, concentrated "roleplay" or "work" and make spontanous breaks with energetic physical activities - possibilities in different kind of space/rooms (define "room", define "anchor" or "point of support") - the significance of various "topography"

2) "Creating the room themselves". Children create the main structure of the physical room as a frame for their activities and as source for their experience, alternating after changing needs - possibilities for changing the "topography" - possibilities to use flexible threedimensional elements or space-definers/dividers (curtains etc) (check architect Jean Boris, Genevieve Hirschler, socialpsychologist: "Children build their school" - and for instance "building- or adventure playgrounds, hut-building)

3) "Fitting out" the space themselves. Children transform the space by choosing new space-elements in existing rooms, which better satisfy the childs changing needs, - "fitting out" the room - using new three-dimensional space elements or space-dividers, - or "strengthening" existing space-dividers (actual settings: within a classroom, or in a scrub/thicket)

4) "Feature (imprint?) the space". Children need possibilities to imprint the space themselves, by interacting with thesurfaces and frames (here I mean: without great 3D changes) - children choose and may change colours, lighting/illumination, the way of lighting, putting up elements on the "walls", etc --- which change their space experience

5) "Childrens own experience/adventure of the room". In varying space-positions (varying "topography") - using different sense organs, all senses alert (and some not available) - childrens own experience in space when given the possibilities mentioned above (1-4) - degrees of identifying with the environment and "property-feeling"/making privacy, need for protection of their "workshop", "work" and "requisites" (check the limit-setting of "theatre-play" and other games towards "newcomers", and the need to control and keep "situations", both physically and socially. - record/prove childrens sense-experience of space (and its possibilities) in different ways - compare and evaluate different space qualities, based upon childrens own experience

I am using pictures and slides, and childrens drawings and simple modelmaking to illustrate the issues above and actual approaches to problems connected to this issues.

 

THE WORKBOOK-METHOD

A shortnote here about the history of the "Work-book-method". This method was mainly developed by two researchers at NIBR (Norwegian Research Institute for Town and Regional Planning): Johs Oraug and Einar Rutledal Oraug had a background as landscape architect, and he developed the method through a lot of rehabilitation projects in suburbs and town parts for years. I had contact with Oraug for some time, trying to establish a common project at NIBR. I had up to then also a lot of smaller participation-projects in schools and suburbs, and I could enrich the "work-book- method", supplying it, with picture-communication, mostly slide programs. And I also had some experience with more simple inquiries-sheets, which also had the same principles as the "workbook method". So I could launch the notion/idea: "Informative questioning", the inquiring-sheets gave the participators clear ideas for change (with small drawings, pictures, or relevant descriptions in words, and it was always used together with relevant slide programs!! Johs. Oraug is to today the creative head of a company making programs and central web-sites (with currently subscription-arrangements) for municipalities and organizations on the issue: "Health, environment and security", among other things. I have a short description of the method, and in addition some notes about how the work-book method can be used in the schools and in the local neighborhood by pupils.

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