Urban planning in schools: Symposium discussed the potentials of U_CODE co-design application for political education

Experiences from German classrooms, the story of a research project and theories of citizen participation, plus lively experimentation and creative brainstorming: The symposium "What potential does digital co-design have for urban planning and education?" offered visitors a wide range of ideas. The project team was also pleased to receive plenty of feedback and some perspectives for future cooperation.

Ralf Dahrendorf Prize financed roadshow

The symposium concluded a roadshow funded by the Ralf Dahrendorf Prize. In 2021, a research group from WISSENSARCHITEKTUR - Laboratory of Knowledge Architecture was recognised as an "outstanding project in the European research area" for the U_CODE computer application.

The researchers used the prize money of 50,000 euros to explore a new field of application. U_CODE was developed for co-design participation processes and had proven its worth in urban planning projects. Citizens were able to create a design for the redesign of Dresden's Fritz-Foerster-Platz in a 3D model and comment on other designs.

Generating ideas and feedback via swarm intelligence - does this also work with children and young people? The U_CODE team wanted to find out and planned a roadshow with German schools and festivals.

Dean Marquardt: "Important Impulse for political education"

"The idea of using U_CODE in schools is an important impulse for political education," said the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Prof Gesine Marquardt, in her welcoming address at the symposium, which took place in the SLUB Makerspace. She praised the award-winning project as the result of European collaboration, for the combination of technology and interdisciplinary data analysis and for its agile, forward-looking approach.

No more Stuttgart 21: The U_CODE story

Before the attendees could get active themselves, Prof Jörg Rainer Noennig, Head of WISSENSARCHITEKTUR, told them the "U_CODE Story" in an entertaining way. Most of his projects begin as splinters of ideas that the team members get stuck on, which they pass on to each other, discuss and think about until a proposal emerges. In the case of U_CODE, Stuttgart 21 was the catalyst. "The needs of the population were not taken into account and this caused major problems," says Noennig.

The counter-design "U(rban)_CODesign" was created in 2016-19 as part of a Horizon2020-funded research and innovation project with an EU-wide consortium led by WISSENSARCHITEKTUR. The first practical project was the redesign of a school campus, quickly followed by international projects in India, Japan and Kenya; further projects, e.g. in Ukraine, are planned. There is now a development department and the OPUS group, which implements the project on site. To this end, U_CODE is being spun off as a start-up as part of an Exist research transfer programme.

Citizen participation as "innovation ecosystem"

Dr Filipe Mello Rose, WISSENARCHITEKTUR colleague from the Model Project Smart City Dresden, explained the theoretical foundations of citizen participation in his keynote speech. Many cities have recognised the need for participatory processes in recent years, but often act under unclear conditions and with false expectations. Participation never represents a unity, but rather the diversity of opinions and possibilities; it is an "innovation ecosystem" that needs to be built, nurtured and interpreted.

Mello Rose cited legitimacy and knowledge as an example of an important parameter in participatory urban planning. In a democracy, it is legitimate to give all citizens access to express their opinions and to involve them on an equal footing.

In terms of (everyday/problem/solution) knowledge, however, the statements of citizens with special insights (e.g. residents) or from certain areas (business, science) can be more relevant for planning than others. The decision-makers would therefore have to decide whether a broad range of opinions would help them with their problem definition or whether they want to weight the results according to constructive aspects.

U_CODE on roadshow: How do you experience your way to school?

The hidden knowledge of swarm intelligence was also the topic of Andreas Wilde, who presented the "experiences from the roadshow". In schools of Dresden-Plauen and Hamburg, for example, pupils took a close look at their journey to school: What are striking places? What do you find "beautiful", "loud", "dangerous"...? Then they were allowed to change their school environment or their neighbourhood in the 3D model: Which houses would you build here? Should green spaces be created? Cycle paths? A football pitch? The subsequent group discussion about which designs deserved the "Eco", "Safety", "Smart", "Beauty" or "Funny" awards was always a highlight of the workshops.

Of course, some of them produced fun content, but the entries and designs always showed a remarkable wealth of ideas and vision, Wilde said. And they provided an extremely exciting insight into the students' imaginations. Fears and needs came up, for example for security or space for personal development. This is where pedagogical discussions with the class can begin, including about how they can participate in shaping their city.

Workshops in schools to be continued

The experience gained from the roadshow has convinced the team to continue using U_CODE in the education sector, even if the funding no longer exists. "Interested schools or other institutions are welcome to contact us. There are certainly ways of arranging this," explains Wilde.

The results from the school workshops will help U_CODE to further optimise the application in terms of the "gamification factor" (the gaming experience as a door opener to participation) and low-threshold user-friendliness. However, one event unexpectedly provided the opportunity to actually send the data to the right place: At the "Klimazirkus" youth action day in Karlsruhe, the city planning office was interested in the results and wants to analyse them as feedback.

Creative Battle: The future of U_CODE?

Between the presentations, visitors were able to try out U_CODE for themselves on a large screen or tablet and, with coffee and snacks, talk to the team. The last item on the programme was the "Creative Battle": moderated by Prof. Noennig, Christiane Wagner (Bürgerlabor/Landeshauptstadt Dresden) and Stefanie Schroeder (Studienbrücke Mentoring/TU Dresden) sat on the podium and brainstormed with those present about the future of U_CODE.

Wagner emphasised that there is great potential for the city of Dresden in citizen participation via U_CODE projects. For success, however, it is essential to tailor the tasks of the designs, for example, precisely to the planning interest and to establish a structure for the participation processes right up to the administration. "The objectives and decision-making paths must be defined here so that everyone can pull together," said Wagner. Schroeder emphasised the creative possibilities: "Why not think freely and simply design 'Dresden 2080'? And then let the ideas inspire you..."

"More than Minecraft"

Both guests support the fact that U_CODE has a chance in education. Schroeder: "Children love playing Minecraft. It should be easy to get them interested in U_CODE!" Many questions and suggestions came from the plenary session. For example, to stabilise participation not just on a project-by-project basis, but via a platform so that a network can form. Organise school project days in the Science Lab. Train teachers in U_CODE so that they can lead workshops themselves. Set up regular co-design sessions at schools.

Prof Noennig: "Participation formats give us the opportunity to understand citizens better. With U_CODE, complex ideas can be presented in a picture instead of 1,000 words." And Torsten Holmer, a member of the development team who took part in the discussion digitally via camera, promised: "We'll keep working!"