Join us for an interactive virtual training session that offers strategies for participatory design in housing. We will begin with a discussion of "The Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership" to illustrate the difference between "planning for" and "planning with" and review various methods of community engagement. Attendees will choose a green building project that they have worked on and reflect on the level of community engagement employed. 

Marcella Corona, Principal and Urban Planner at MK Corona, and James Rojas, Founder of PlaceIt! will then present brief case studies of participatory design used to develop housing retrofit and design projects. 

Finally, attendees will participate in a PlaceIt! exercise facilitated by James. PlaceIt! is an innovative art-based model-building method to engage community members through their hands and senses, to unlock creative and expansive thinking and solutions for urban design. We will conclude with a group discussion of ways to apply participatory design in green building projects. Participants should come prepared for discussion and bring a handful of small personal objects to use during the exercise. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Assess your green building practice's community engagement methods using the Spectrum of Community Engagement 
• Identify community engagement and participatory design strategies applicable to green building projects.
• Apply the PlaceIt! Method participatory design method in a workshop setting 
• Evaluate opportunities to incorporate participatory design and co-creation strategies into green building projects.

Speakers: 

• Marcella Corona, Principal, Urban Planner, MK Corona
• James Rojas, Founder, Place It