April 8, 2020
Professor publishes chapter in new book 'Creating Space for Democracy'
Katie Kingery-Page, associate professor of landscape architecture and associate dean for the College of Architecture, Planning & Design, published a chapter, "Local Participation and Lived Experience: Dialogue and Deliberation through Participatory Processes in Landscape Architecture" in the book "Creating Space for Democracy: A Primer on Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education."
The 2019 book from Stylus Press is edited by Nicholas V. Longo and Timothy J. Shaffer, associate professor of communication studies.
"We live in divisive and polarizing times, often remaining in comfortable social bubbles and experiencing few genuine interactions with people who are different or with whom we disagree," editors Longo and Shaffer write. "For our democracy to thrive at a time when we face wicked problems that involve tough trade-offs, it is vital that all citizens participate fully in the process. We need to learn to listen, think, and act with others to solve public problems." Kingery-Page adds, "In context of architecture, planning, and design, future professionals need knowledge of equitable processes to engage people in imagining the future of a place."
At the most basic level, this book describes collaborative and relational work to engage with others and co-create meaning. Specifically, dialogue and deliberation are processes in which a diverse group of people moves toward making a collective decision on a difficult public issue. In her chapter, Kingery-Page offers an overview of how landscape architects have contributed to development of dialogue and deliberation in community design processes. The chapter also details a specific model for community dialogue developed through service learning.
Kingery-Page presented highlights from "Local Participation and Lived Experience: Dialogue and Deliberation through Participatory Processes in Landscape Architecture" at the Schools of Thought: Rethinking Architectural Pedagogy conference organized by the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, hosted March 5-7, in Norman, Oklahoma.
Public exhibit by landscape architecture students and Kingery-Page, photo by La Barbara James Wigfall.
