Back to the Field? Community Design After COVID-19
August 15-16 (Americas)/ 16-17 (Asia-Pacific), 2021
The profound disruptions under the COVID-19 pandemic have presented not only a societal crisis but also an important moment for community design practitioners and educators to critically reflect on their work. With the ongoing spikes of cases around the world, will we be able to fully resume our practices before? For places that have recovered from outbreaks, what have we learned from the crisis that may require us to approach community design differently? What changes have already been adopted in ongoing practices? How can community design address the longstanding social divides that have become even more evident during the pandemic? How can “fieldwork” and “field school” in particular serve as a vehicle to bridge the social divides?
This two-day series of online workshops will bring together community design educators and practitioners to share lessons and experiences during the pandemic and collectively reflect on the questions above. Through cases in the Pacific Rim, including Australia, Cambodia, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States, presenters will examine experiments with online and offline methods of community engagement, the role of nearby places and placemaking in community engagement, and the continued importance of fieldwork for learning and practice. In addition, topics related to the challenges facing children will be highlighted along with the role of landscape and natural environments during and beyond the pandemic.
The event represents a continued partnership between the Pacific Rim Community Design Network and the APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Hub which also hosted our webinar series in July 2020, titled “Bottom-Up Resilience.” A summary of the events is available here—Part I & Part II.
>> Download the Workshop Program
>> Watch the Session Recordings:
Day 1 Concurrent Sessions:
- In the field During/After COVID-19
- O2O Teaching & Community Engagement
- Nearby Place(making) after COVID-19?
Day 2 Concurrent Sessions:
- Teaching and Practicing Community Design during the Pandemic and the New Normal
- Supporting Children After COVID-19
- The Role of Landscapes After COVID-19
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Organizing Committee:
- Jeffrey Hou (University of Washington, Seattle)
- Iderlina Mateo-Babiano (University of Melbourne)
- Jayde Lin Roberts (UNSW Sydney)
- Arijit Sen (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee)
- Tan Beng Kiang (National University of Singapore)
- Naomi Uchida (Saitama University)
In collaboration with the APRU Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Hub Live Webinar Series