Abstract

This paper presents a case of community participatory neighborhood park design. The site, Yangji park, is located in Sandang-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul and the area is about 1,870m. Neighborhood park is defined as an outdoor space which is close to people´s home and is considered to be their own, because of the residents´ collective responsibility, family association, and frequent shared use. It is a place for pleasant rest area for community, sharing a sense of nature and retaining a sense of tradition and culture which is disappearing in a city. It is related to the daily life of the people near the site and becomes a place to let the community increase dialogue and understanding between people. On the other hand, participatory design is a design in which people participate in the design process. Thus people can understand the project well, present their opinions better, and reconcile conflicts between the different interests of people. This design applied a community participatory design method to design a neighborhood park. The major strategies for participatory design were ´workshop´, ´card game´, ´walking site´, ´interview´, and ´questionnaire´. Eight workshops were performed for the participation design. The major spaces and facilities elected by participants were the ´main entrance plaza´, ´entrance symbol space´, ´children´s ´playground´, ´multipurpose sport ground´, ´grass land´, ´foot-pressure area´, ´spaces symbolizing a rock mountain and an old well´, ´space for youth´, ´a pavilion´, etc. From this selection, design concept alternatives were generated by participants. The aster plan was developed from these design alternatives with the help of landscape architects. It was revised by ist visits and community discussions. People were also involved in the construction process and left their own works, such as hand prints, on the site. After construction, residents continued to maintain the park by themselves. As a result, It was found that participatory design was very effective for people´s satisfaction and sustainable park management. By involving people more in the process they developed a sense of community, a sense of ownership, and attachment to the place. In conclusion, it is suggested that we need to develop an effective people´s participation method to Korean society.

Keywords

• Participatory Design;
• Neighborhood Park;
• Porket Park Design;
• Yangji Park