Design Research: Policies and solutions for sustainable cities

Vila Lobos Park in Sao Paulo. Photo from OICS.

Organizations
CGEE / OICSUFPRDesign and Sustainability Research Center
Theme
Cities
CompetencesDesign ResearchDesign for Sustainability
Year2021
PublicationsPaper to download
Sustainable cities and communitiesEvery person – in every country in the world – should have the opportunity to live a long and healthy life. Today, most people are living longer and a significant proportion of the world’s population are older people. By 2050, the world’s population of people over the age of 60 will double. This demographic change has strong implications for sustainable development. As people grow older, their health outcomes, needs and what they value can change (WHO). 
ContextThis project was part of a partnership between the CGEE's Observatory for Innovation in Sustainable Cities (OICS) and the Design & Sustainability Center of the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR).
Project Goals
  • The publications were intended to support decision makers within municipal governments as input for the preparation of local projects relevant to the themes: 
      • Mobility: with a focus on transit-oriented development;
      • Energy: focusing on decentralized production of solar energy;
      • Built Environment: focusing on social housing;
      • Sanitation - Water: focusing on phytoremediation solutions;
      • Sanitation - Solid Waste: focusing on reuse and recycling or treatment;
      • Nature-Based Solutions: with adaptation and implementation in Brazil;
  • Specialized technical support for validating the database of innovative solutions from the Innovation Observatory for Sustainable Cities (OICS), and preparing executive summaries for public policies.
  • Research and formulate executive summaries about the state of the art in the themes, connecting the policies mapped to the solutions available on the OICS platform, with validation by specialists throughout Brazil and workshops with municipal managers.
Approach:
My ContributionI worked in the research cycles of each theme in collaboration with the project team and conducted the workshops with stakeholders:
Research
  • Systematic Bibliographic Review (RBS)
  • Heuristic Method for analysis
  • Analysis of the OICS database of solutions and cases
  • Formulation of the policies taxonomies, report and checklist for evaluation

Workshops with experts and municipalities
  • Planning and preparation 
  • Survey and evaluation guides
  • Online workshops 
  • Recommendations and review of the reports