Conference article

Negotiating Matters - Supporting Agonistic Pluralism in Community Planning

Maja Frögård
Konstfack, Stockholm, Sweden

Download article

Published in: Service Design Geographies. Proceedings of the ServDes.2016 Conference

Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 125:41, p. 495-499

Show more +

Published: 2016-05-17

ISBN: 978-91-7685-738-0

ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)

Abstract

There is no goal for public consultation in community planning, there are several conflicting ones, using Chantal Mouffes model of democracy to acknowledge the conflictual nature of democratic politics, not striving for consensus but agonistic pluralism. Our work builds on experience from co-design workshops we held in Upplands Va¨sby concerning a conflict between politicians, civil servants and citizens. Seeing the workshop as a space of agonism, an arena for different positions to meet and negotiate, we as designers work with form and material to support the different interests. We suggest three categories to consider when crafting this agonistic space; perspectives, format and material. Acknowledging the complexity of planning, no longer striving for consensus but to keep the negotiation alive, is a starting-point for understanding the different conflicting interests and together create ways of working well with wickedness through making more sensible judgements.

Keywords

negotiation, matter, agonistic pluralism, co-design, public consultation

References

DiSalvo, C. (2010). Design, Democracy and agonistic pluralism, proceedings of the DRS 2010 conference Design & Complexity, Montreal (Quebec), Canada.

Law, J. (2014) Working well with wickedness, CRESC working paper 135, University of Manchester.

Lindström, K. & Ståhl, Å. (2014) Inviting to co-articulations of issues in designerly public engagement, Conference: design anthropological futures, KADK, Copenhagen.

Mouffe, C. (2000). Deliberative Democracy or Agonistic Pluralism. Political Science Series, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna.

Mouffe, C. (2013). Agonistics, thinking the world politically, Verso, London.

Rittel, H. & Webber, M. (1973) Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. Public Sciences 4, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

Steen, M. (2014) Co-Design as a Process of Joint Inquiry and Imagination, Design Issues, Volume 29, Number 2.

Sanders Elizabeth B.-N. & Stappers, P. (2012) Convivial toolbox : generative research for the front end of design, Bis Publisher.

Tahvilzadeh, N. & Tunström, M. (2015) Medborgardialog - demokrati eller dekoration?, Stiftelsen Arkus, Stockholm.

Citations in Crossref