Interpretive Flexibility as an Approach to Designing Inclusive Urban Space: Learning from Medellín and Beirut

Abstract

In this article, we examine how urban design can promote inclusion by simultaneously accommodating multiple expressions of interests and identities and providing common ground for interaction between different social and cultural groups. Borrowing from science and technology studies, we use the concept of 'interpretive flexibility', which recognises multiple and incongruent perspectives as a resource in design and extend this by drawing on the architectural notion of 'generality', which supports the ability of a design to accommodate change in usage without a change in its properties. We illustrate the potential of interpretive flexibility as an approach to designing inclusive urban space with a comparative case study of Medellín, Colombia and Beirut, Lebanon. This approach treats architectural considerations about materials and form as an integral part of planning interventions for social change. In discussing this approach, we identify key insights from our cases and their relevance for Nordic and other urban contexts.

Creativity and Innovation in Civic Spaces Supported by Cognitive Flexibility When Learning with AI Chatbots in Smart Cities

“…or intangible (e.g., "imaginary paths, nodes of convergence and collective memories"), as reconnection (Landman, 2020) [70]. Geirbo et al (2022) [3] describe the generativity of interpretive flexibility as "the capacity to inspire practices, attract users, or set in motion processes that were not an expected or intended outcome of a design", serving to create many connections.…”

“…This study explores whether and how AI chatbot technologies might assist us in the shaping of smart cities and regions. Geirbo, Harboe, Hoelscher, and Petersen (2022) [3] explore urban design in relation to the elements of flexibility and inclusion, where the notion of "interpretive flexibility" is advanced as "an approach to designing inclusive urban space". Clément (2022) [4] claims that "a broad consensus is emerging on the flexible nature of human cognition to adapt to novelty and unexpected events".…”