The Pool in Which We All Swim
Designing Against the Tide from Neoliberalism to Collective Infrastructures
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.82068/pgjournal.2026.23.42.10Keywords:
Research through design, Participatory Urban Planning, Participatory Design, Neoliberalism, PoliticsAbstract
This article aims to define a political role for design that amplifies its social, cultural and political dimensions. In particular, it advocates for a role that goes beyond functionalism in challenging the neoliberal system and influencing the processes of urban regeneration in our cities. Starting from an overview of neoliberalism and its impact on our daily lives, the article highlights participatory urban transformation processes as spaces in which design can assume a more ethical and radical role. It explores some experiments and insights drawn from practice and underlines the need for a new approach to participatory design. This approach should focus not only on the functionality of participatory infrastructures, but also on the collection, systematisation, capitalisation and maintenance of the visibility of knowledge networks and relationships generated by participatory urban planning. In particular, the article suggests combining communication design, participatory planning and a research-through-design approach to emphasise the importance of valorising the legacy of these processes and, through this, developing knowledge frameworks to counter the negative effects of the exploitation of human, creative, social, cultural and economic capital typical of neoliberalism.
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