Yasushi Sakai - Thesis Proposal Critique
Urban planning encompasses a broad spectrum of issues, ranging from NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard), and gentrification to infrastructural development and environmental sustainability. These multifaceted challenges, layered in their nature, often lead to conflicts between multiple stakeholder views; the cities' agenda, residents' aspirations, and urban developmental objectives. Such complexity demonstrates the need for innovative consensus-building approaches in diverse urban contexts.
To achieve the former, this work first defines "complexity" within these circumstances and organizes the requirments that a tool would need to render useful. The research then proposes a flexible voting mechanism; Propagational Proxy Voting System which allows participants to distribute their votes across various policy issues or delegate them to trusted peers. This method is designed to more effectively capture the nuanced preferences of a diverse resident population, fostering a deeper and more representative consensus. After the theoretical construction, a case study will be held, coupled with real estate proformas for economic evaluation, to test the effectiveness of this voting tool in a real-world setting. The study will explore how such a tool can navigate urban planning issues, through stakeholder interviews, workshops, and online surveys.
Recognizing the multi-layered nature of urban planning, this method aims to support residents with a direct influence on shaping development projects with tangible outcomes, while offering developers clearer insights into community expectations. This promotes smoother project approvals and sustainable asset management, contributing to prosocial urban development.
This research extends beyond the development of a novel voting mechanism; it seeks to improve the deliberation process in the multifaceted domain of urban planning. By integrating this approach with a practical application, the research aims to support fostering informed, inclusive, and balanced urban development decisions. This is a step towards creating more collaborative and democratic urban environments, adept at addressing the layered complexities of modern urban challenges.
Committee members:
Kent Larson
Professor of the Practice, Director of City Science MIT Media Lab
Kairos Shen
Executive Director at the Center for Real Estate, Associate Professor
Wesley Chow
Head of Engineering, MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Presented at the MIT Media Lab in June 2024
Негізгі бет Consensus Bricolages -Flexible Voting Mechanism for Inclusive Urban Decision-making
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