The entire co-creation process of DivAirCity is iterative and there are many ways of illustrating such processes and they have many names. A term used and understood by many is Design Thinking and this is the reference we will draw upon too throughout this framework
- Design thinking is one form of human-centered design. It is a creative and analytical process. It draws from the designer’s toolkit and integrates the needs of people into the process and the solutions.
- Design Thinking requires vision and action both from leaders, staff and citizens.
- It doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated sometimes all you need is fresh eyes.
- Design Thinking requires an openness of mind and a wish to change the world around you.
- Create a culture for learning/ Share the doubts you have about design process, embrace that we are all on the same road to achieve a common goal.
HMW-questions
The act of analysing of all your great questions from the project to the citizens is an important first stepping stone of the design thinking approach.
It is supported by a T3.2 Activity by Creative Climate Cities.
How do the bigger questions translate into “calls to action”?
Another action that cannot be simply provided from a WP leader is phrasing our offerings for inviting in the cities for the first meet-ups of different kinds. It requires action and processing individually in each city.
All city partners will work on getting this right, using the language course, the actor maps and knowledge or the target groups.
A City of Aarhus example of an invitation. The title uses the “call to action”, the body text is however too long and uses a lot of words that are unnecessarily complicated.
Use the channels of communication
Remember to utilize the channels for communication. There is much guidance to be provided both from the communications partner (RTBF) and by re-sharing videos. “DivAirCity is a project that “recognizes, accepts and celebrates differences” in cities and turns them into a true value to address the emergency of air pollution and climate change.”
“DivAirCity shifts the urban paradigm by valuing human diversity as a resource to define new services and models towards cultural-driven green cities. The project focuses on the nexus between people, places, peace, economic growth, and its impact on air quality and decarbonisation (…)”
Remind your team to give something back to the channels too, by sharing your stories, voices and progress throughout the project in the form of videos and posts on any social media you prefer. Consider it “hard fun” and not hard work – these action breathe life into your own community building.
