About Citizen Designer

What is the role of the individual in the design of urban space? Has the ever-expanding nexus of profit-driven development, foreign investment, rezoning and gentrification rendered the individual effectively helpless- a bystander in a much larger game of real estate speculation and greed? Or, are contemporary urban realities simply milestones in a broader historical continuum of urban development? And, is it possible that newly available creative modes of participation via social media and crowd sourcing in fact provide the individual with radically new opportunities for creation, intervention, occupation and resistance in the urban context?

Citizen/Designer is a series of open conversations that will explore both the possibilities and limitations faced by individuals who wish to contribute to the design of their cities. The series will bring together practitioners, policy makers, community leaders and activists across the fields of planning, real estate, art and design in discussions that reflect on avenues currently open to everyday citizens in the making of the urban fabric. In a context of inclusivity and exploration, the conversations will begin to imagine new dynamics in which individuals play a more active role in the development of their cities.

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Marvel Architects