Guide for Promoting Social Design Leadership by Siobhan Burger: Pathways to Improve City Life for the Future
Dutch urban designer Siobhan Burger has become an influential figure in the Netherlands' city-building sector, advocating for social design in urban planning. For eight years, Siobhan and her partner ran Arttenders, a social design agency, trying to persuade city leaders and developers to prioritize people's needs in future city developments. However, Siobhan found that these influential decision-makers often focused on immediate demands, ignoring long-term considerations.
In 2022, Siobhan took a bold move, leaving Arttenders to join Dura Vermeer, one of the Netherlands' largest property developers. She wanted to be part of the design process, ensuring that social considerations were at the forefront of urban development. At Dura Vermeer, she launched a social impact program, empowering the company's architects and engineers to embed social design principles in every project.
One of Siobhan's projects was The Splash, a temporary public space near a renovated shopping mall. Research revealed a demand for outdoor socializing areas that complied with COVID-19 distancing guidelines. The Splash, modeled after a once-existing pool, was designed and opened to public vote, ultimately becoming a popular and successful community gathering spot. Unfortunately, when it came time to decide whether to make it a permanent fixture, municipal regulations disagreed with its aesthetic, leading to its removal.
Siobhan believes this situation highlights the disconnect between decision-makers and everyday people. In her view, the current system prioritizes the wishes of those who seldom use the spaces being designed rather than considering the needs of the intended users.
To address this issue, Siobhan encourages designers to think critically about how urban development shapes social systems. This means understanding the intricacies of community life and how built environments provide opportunities for education, employment, and social interaction. By recognizing the broader tapestry of social experiences, Siobhan believes that urban planners can begin to create more inclusive communities.
Better yet, such communal spaces can foster connections and encourage non-commercial sharing, attributes of cohesive and content communities. However, creating such spaces requires a shift in perspective. Instead of designing for known issues, urban designers must seek to understand and meet the needs of the communities being built for.
This need for inclusivity becomes increasingly important as cities like Rotterdam prepare for future growth. Over the next few decades, tens of thousands of new inhabitants will arrive, many of them low-income and starting anew. The built environment must offer conditions that create supportive social infrastructure for these newcomers.
Ignoring the importance of social infrastructure and focusing solely on physical structures often leads to failed urban planning projects. For instance, decorative greenery in a community may look appealing but might not be optimally placed for community engagement or youth development.
Siobhan believes that planners can learn from existing communal spaces, although she notes that there is often prejudice in the choices made by authorities. For example, she once visited a densely populated Islamic community that demonstrates a strong sense of community. However, this neighborhood faces scrutiny and regulation based on its religious makeup, while similar Christian or socio-economic monocultures would not receive the same attention.
Incorporating social design principles into urban development is not easy, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Siobhan encourages designers to think creatively about how urban development shapes societal systems. By addressing the complexities of spatial planning and working closely with diverse communities, she believes that cities can build a more equitable future.
- Siobhan is proposing a lifestyle change in urban development that emphasizes home-and-garden spaces designed with long-term social needs in mind, advocating for communal areas that foster connections and encourage non-commercial sharing as part of this movement.
- As cities like Rotterdam welcome new inhabitants, particularly low-income individuals, Siobhan believes it's crucial to prioritize home-and-garden spaces that provide supportive social infrastructure, ensuring the development of more inclusive communities.
