1998 Berkeley, USA

Democratic Design in the Pacific Rim

The Inaugural Conference of the Pacific Rim Community Design Network
University of California, Berkeley. May 20-23, 1998

 

The inaugural working conference of the network was held on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley in Spring 1998. The 3-day event brought together twenty leading community design scholars/practitioners from Japan, Taiwan, and the United States to share their projects, experience, and knowledge in the growing practice of democratic design in the respective contexts. The organization of the conference began with the discussion of forming a small working group of professionals doing community design and grassroots planning in the Pacific Rim to share ideas about our work. Students at Berkeley founded HELP (Human Exchange for Local Participatory Planning) to spur the discussion to action. The 3-day conference marked the first time that the professionals from the three countries were able to share, compare notes, debate, and learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives. The enriching and exhilarating exchange formed the foundation for establishing the Pacific Rim Community Design Network.

Organizer: Randolph T. Hester, Jr. University of California, Berkeley

Conference Program
Session1. Legal and Practical Authority

Public Participation in Planning in Japan: The Legal Perspective – Yukio Nishimura

Theorizing Community Participatory Design in a Developing Country: The Historical Meaning of Democratic Design in Taiwan – Chu-joe Hsia

The Place of Participatory Design: An American View – Randolph Hester

Session 2. Place and Culture: Issues of Justice and Globalization

Community-Based Workshops for Street Design in a Historical Pottery Community, Tsuboya, Naha – Keiko Ono and Tetsuya Ando

The Tawo House: Building in the Face of Cultural Domination – John K.C. Liu

Linking Youth Training and Employment with Community-Building: Lessons Learned at the BYA Garden Patch – Laura Lawson

The Apple Promenade in lida City, Nagano Prefecture – Isami Kinoshita

Session 3. Citizen Activism in Environmental Planning

Rebirth of Kitazawagawa Stream – Yoshiharu Asanoumi

Opening Day is not Everyday – WaIter Hood

From Activism to Sustainable Development: The Case of Chigu and the Anti-Binnan Movement – Jeffrey Hou

Facilitating Negotiated Agreements to Restore the Environmental Quality of the San Francisco Estuary – Scott McCreary

Session 4. Citizen Participation in Quality of Life Planning Issues

Trust between Government and Users: Planning for Recreation and Protection of the Green Fingers – Shu-jen Kao

Making a Community’s Place: The Case of Davis’ Central Park and Farmers’ Market – Mark Francis

The Contemporary Meaning of Cooperative Housing – Case Study: M-Port (Kumamoto) – Yasuhiro Endoh

Peng-hu Central Street Revitalization Plan and Community Participation – Chao-ching Yu

Session 5. Helping Grassroots Organizations Thrive

On the Care and Feeding of the Grassroots – Marcia McNally

The Community Design Process at Kamagasaki, Osaka, Japan – Masato Dohi

Recruiting, Training, and Retaining Volunteers – Robert Ogilvie

Toward a City for Citizens: Two Community Organizations in Taiwan – Hsin-Jung Liu and Bing-Yi Lu.

What Encourages and Discourages Grassroots Activities? The Case of Kusappara Park – Sawako Ono