View source for Participatory Planning and Design Methods: History, theory and practice

===Overview & Aims===
On this interactive course you'll learn about history, theory, best practices and tools regarding participatory planning and design.
The main goal is to promote and empower Participatory Planning as a design paradigm that emphasizes in the involving of citizens, local communities, local / regional / national authorities and experts as well as other stakeholders in the strategic and management processes of public spaces design, planning and management.

'''Keywords''': Participation, Stakeholders, Governance, Democracy, Decision-making, Community engagement

===Content and Outline===

This interactive course offers a coherent overview of the subject of participatory planning and design. 

The main points of the course are:
* Understanding the historical and political context in which participatory planning began and developed
* Conceptualisation and understanding of the basic principles and methodology of participatory processes
* Presentation of good practices / applied european examples
* Familiarisation with the methods and participatory planning tools
* Workshop simulation 

===Expected Learning Outcomes===

* Creative thinking – Innovations: Inspired by new ideas or combine existing ones to develop innovative, novel solutions for urban issues
* Develop strategies to solve urban problems: Develop specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize and accomplish work
* Interact with different stakeholders: Engage with others face-to-face in a wide range

===Who is this mini-course for===

This course is suitable for:
* Students with an interest in participatory methodologies in Planning (PhD Candidates, researchers etc.)
* Professionals, policy makers and experts such as urban planners who participate in the design process of city’s public spaces, public buildings, etc.

===Instructors===
Sofia Tsadari, Dionisia Koutsi, Giorgos Velegrakis, Artemis Koumparelou from [https://www.commonspace.gr/en COMMONSPACE]

The instructors are members of the team of [https://www.commonspace.gr/en COMMONSPACE], which is a collaborative-interdisciplinary planning and design group which has been working on participatory planning since 2012 and has been operated as a Worker Cooperative since 2017. COMMONSPACE provides high quality services in the fields of Spatial Strategies, Architecture, Social Research, Urban and Environmental Design by creating or implementing innovative tools and processes. It seeks to be a link between citizens, social institutions, and public authorities, a hub for the exchange of knowledge, ideas and practices among citizens, experts and decision-makers.
Furthermore, COMMONSPACE has created a specifically structured methodology and a set of tools regarding Multi-Stakeholder Engagement Processes and Participatory Planning.