Question 3

John is an urban designer and landscape architect with two decades of experience leading multidisciplinary teams to design and deliver complex masterplan frameworks, award-winning public realm strategy, and innovative streetscapes and public spaces. A former Partner at Gehl and co-founder of Rebar, he works with communities, municipalities, and private sector partners to create diverse, equitable, and resilient places. John is skilled at leading user experience and ethnographic research and applying research insights and spatial data to inform strategic planning and innovative design. John possesses excellent design, leadership, facilitation, collaboration, and public speaking skills.

Q: The concept of user-generated urbanism is fascinating. Could you elaborate on how you empower citizens to actively shape their urban landscapes, and how this approach has contributed to more inclusive and community-driven designs?

A: User generated urbanism is a way to describe citizen participation in place creation. This can range from parklets to community gardening to co-housing to informal settlements. Citizens are already empowered, my goal is to remove the obstacles and create both a strong and flexible framework for participation. Too loose and flexible a structure can result in chaotic outcomes, too rigid a framework can result in people feeling powerless, not having a sense of agency or ownership. It’s a delicate balance that has to be specific to the culture and context.