The Social Design Guide helps provide advice and information about how to facilitate participatory design processes, with a backstory of how we adopted a range of participatory design tools to improve public space in a riverfront informal settlement in Banjarmasin, Indonesia. It answers questions such as ‘Who do you invite to meetings’ and ‘How do you facilitate meetings?’ The Field Guide documents a process that Kota Kita undertook in Banjarmasin, Central Kalimantan for a participatory urban design process called Firm Foundation.

How does this work?
The guide walks readers through the tools used during the design workshops, the lessons learned from the process, and the design outcome. It takes the format of a three-day “journey” during which residents worked together to develop ideas for the public realm. Because this guide is about sharing many tools urban designers and NGOs can use for their own initiatives, the guide also includes three case studies of other participatory projects our team has led in Indonesia. Lastly, the guide features personal reflections from team members throughout its pages.

Who can use this?
This tool can be used by urban designers, community facilitators, and civil society organizations, who want to encourage meaningful citizen participation in shaping their surroundings.