Co-design: designing with, not for.

Just Engagement is a co-design project of the People’s Collaborative Governance Network, in partnership with the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA), with the goal of working alongside people most impacted by development to reimagine BPDA’s engagement practices.

Our design process

Problem statement 💡

The rapid rate of development in Boston has many concerned about rising housing costs and displacement, particularly in communities of color. Additionally, residents feel like they have no control over what is happening in their neighborhoods; communities feel left out of development decisions that directly impact them. While developers swarm the city, eager to make a profit on Boston’s growth, who is looking out for the interests of current residents and communities? The Boston Planning and Development Agency could and should play this role. Mandated by law in Article 80, the BPDA is charged with engaging the surrounding community about development projects of a certain size, before projects are approved by the Board. But according to residents and even many local elected officials, this engagement is insufficient at centering those most negatively impacted by development in the decisions about development in their communities.

Design challenge ✏️

How might the BPDA improve their engagement practices and tools to meaningfully involve residents in decisions about development in their communities?

“There is a process, there are abutters meetings. But sometimes I feel like there’s a loophole and some people are just left out…I don’t know why some of us just don’t know… Our voices should be the number one voices that matter.”
- Dorchester resident

Collaborative leadership team 🤝

This co-design project was a collaborative effort of a multi-sector leadership team. The Collaborative Leadership Team worked closely together throughout the entirety of the project from problem framing and research, all the way through design.

  • Barry Reeves, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at BPDA

  • Leo Olsen, PCGN Fellow and East Boston community activist

  • Meg Malkemes, PCGN Fellow and Dorchester community activist

  • Maridena Rojas, PCGN Core Team & Dorchester community leader

  • Marilyn Foreman, PCGN Core Team & Dorchester community leader

  • John Harlow, PCGN Core Team & researcher

  • Rachele Gardner, PCGN Program Manager

How did we arrive out our insights?

The collaborative design process included the following elements.

Workshops

One of our workshops in East Boston. Credit: Mayra.

Workshops with the PCGN network to understand peoples’ experiences with development and to uncover ideas for potential interventions.

Interviews

Interviews with Community Engagement Managers at BPDA and with other key stakeholders, including a developer.

Focus groups & design workshops

Focus groups and design workshops with two Community Design Teams, one from East Boston and one from Dorchester, that were assembled for this project. Participants were residents and community leaders who are concerned about the way that development happens in Boston. They met for three consecutive workshops over the course of one month.

Explore our findings

Through our research we have determined 5 key components for transforming BPDA’s engagement practices. Each of these 5 components includes various strategies. With the Community Design Teams in Dorchester and East Boston, we honed in on designing prototypes for two of these strategies. Take a look at our co-designed Community Inclusion Plan and Development Info Pamphlet.