Empathy through Accumulating Techné: Designing an Accessible Metro

This paper describes, analyses and reflects on a co-creation process between people with and without disabilities as they redesign the Brussels metro transport system over a two-decade period. Users who are visually impaired and blind become experts in the process while people without disabilities,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Design journal Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 207 - 229
Main Authors Strickfaden, Megan, Devlieger, Patrick
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 01.06.2011
Subjects
disability
inclusive design
know-how
redesign
user/expert
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Summary:This paper describes, analyses and reflects on a co-creation process between people with and without disabilities as they redesign the Brussels metro transport system over a two-decade period. Users who are visually impaired and blind become experts in the process while people without disabilities, a group of transport companies and service developers, become more empathic towards those with different needs. Our narrative reveals an inclusive design process that takes into account the particular capabilities and dispositions of people through a discussion of techné, which is described as embodied know-how enacted through daily life. This paper illustrates how people, with and without disabilities, achieve an increasingly more symmetrical negotiation as they work together towards a common goal. Techné is identified as key to engaging in a co-creation process towards developing empathy with users and discovering the nuances of users' authentic needs, and has the potential to impact design outcomes in profound ways.
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ISSN:1460-6925
1756-3062
DOI:10.2752/175630611X12984592780041