Community-led design capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Fonseca Braga, Mariana; Filho, Eduardo Romeiro; G. Guimarães Pereira, Haddon; Tsekleves, Emmanuel; L. O. Mendonça, Rosângela Míriam

Abstract

COVID-19 threats have been impacting disadvantaged communities even harder. This paper looks into challenge areas and community responses to those in Brazilian informal settlements during the COVID-19 pandemic. These were identified through online roundtables with community members and representatives of NGOs in five Brazilian informal settlements. Our findings show how community members unconsciously design, deploying community-led (or diffuse) design capabilities to tackle COVID-19 challenges. These capabilities have been critical to coping with the immediate effects of the pandemic in communities. However, they are limited to short-term and reactive strategies. We argue that these natural problem-solving skills can be enhanced through a transition from diffuse to co-design capabilities to further harness community creativity towards better futures; extending community-led design capabilities into challenges and opportunity areas in a more strategic way for communities. This research contributes to filling the gap in design studies on how and to which extent communities unconsciously design.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Start Date: Jun 8, 2021
• End Date: Jun 11, 2021
• Acceptance Date: Mar 13, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Sep 28, 2021
• Publication Date: Sep 28, 2021
• Deposit Date: Apr 30, 2024
• Volume: 2
• Pages: 2165-2181
• Series ISSN: 2490-046X
• Book Title: Design Culture(s). Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021
• ISBN: 9789526490045
• Keywords: | COMMUNITY-LED DESIGN CAPABILITIES; CO-DESIGN; COVID-19 PANDEMIC; COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
• Publisher URL: https://cumulusroma2020.org/proceedings/
• Related Public URLs: https://cumulusroma2020.org/proceedings-files/DC(s)_PROCEEDINGS_full_vol2.pdf