SUMMARY OF SPRING 2008

Rules of Engagement: Denmark and Williston SC
(Fall 2007–Spring2008)

Project Team:
Jori Erdman, Associate Professor, School of Architecture; Director, Community Research and Design Center
Mary Beth McCubbin, Director, aLINEments Studio, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture
Harry Crissy, Extension agent, Barnwell County, Clemson Public Service Activities

Students Landscape Architecture: Meghan Childers, Meika Fields; Architecture: Aaron Bowman, Claire Bowman, Shawn McKeever, Sara Mikkelsen, Thomas Weir; City and Regional Planning: Kaylan Pedine

(Note: This is the second semester of a two-part class. The first semester of Rules of Engagement concentrated on the various "players" involved with community development and change. We had presentations by and discussions with civic leaders, administrators, historians, and designers. The students were integral participants in the 2007 Mayors Institute, a component of the South Carolina Design Arts Partnership, where they worked with five communities to research, analyze and provide solutions for community design issues. They had the opportunity to participate in a two-day charrette alongside nationally known experts in the field of community revitalization.)

Class Goals
—Explore the partnerships of public officials and design professionals and how they shape communities
—Understand the civic responsibilities of design professionals
—Observe and practice techniques for civic engagement (interviews, charrettes, workshops, presentations)
—Examine relationships between social/cultural history and community design and economic development
—Learn about commonly used resources and tools for implementing public projects (grants, community development corporations, tax incentives, etc.)
—Focus on how design can act as a community catalyst, making participation in the democratic process exciting and meaningful for citizens

Although public participation has become an increasingly standard part of community design and development over the last thirty years, professional design education rarely offers the opportunity for students to be involved, hands-on, with the community issues that drive their designs. And those classes that do exist, often miss out on the theory behind the practices. Rules of Engagement was developed to offer students an opportunity to engage both theory and practices of community participatory design.

One of our goals in the class was to educate the students about the South and make them aware of the various issues in play, particularly in regards to race. It is always interesting to realize that our students, primarily upper middle class, White and from the South, actually know very little about the South, it’s history and the tensions that still exist as an everyday experience for many citizens. So we did readings and watched documentary films followed by intense discussions. In addition, the students wrote reflections in on-line blogs as part of the course.

We also did many readings and held discussions on the theory and practices of community participatory design as a general field of investigation. Our readings included case studies as well as guidebooks on best practices. Through our discussions and their own experiences in the field, the students were able to flesh out their own opinions and start to develop their own methods for working with community members towards a design solution for their community.

Mr. Crissy is working with communities in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina on issues related to economic revitalization and community development. Scheduling dictated that we work on two communities in the spring. The first, Denmark, had already been surveyed by Mr. Crissy and had also been part of a community design workshop (students also participated in this activity in the fall). Based on these results, Mr. Crissy invited a cross-disciplinary team of architecture, landscape architecture, and planning students to assist community members in identifying their needs and to facilitate a visioning process in Denmark, SC.

In the Spring, as Mr. Crissy was preparing his final report, the students and faculty travelled to Denmark again to make a final visual assessment based on the information that had been gathered. Armed with this preliminary information, the team headed to Clemson and back to the drawing board—literally. Their job was to interpret the community's vision and to suggest design solutions to the issues that were identified in the charrette. This would serve several purposes. These drawings can help to rally a community around common goals, they are physical evidence that embody the community's vision, and they can serve as necessary tools to garner support for public projects. The

Our final project of the semester focused on preparing and executing a design workshop in Williston, SC. The class spent the last few weeks of the semester going door-to-door to distribute questionnaires similar to the ones used in Denmark. They prepared a visual inventory of Williston including photos, maps, and aerial images. The students also worked with Mr. Crissy to prepare for the event itself. A community meeting room in the Fire Station of Williston was the site of the workshop. Doors opened early but only about 10 people from the community joined in. However, the participants split into discussion groups to evaluate and prioritize the issues. Students acted as moderators for these discussions and aided the community members in mapping what were identified as community assets and liabilities. Following conversations centered on potential changes that would enhance the quality of life in Williston. One particularly successful suggestion made by the students was to use poker chips as a way for the community members to divide assets and prioritize needs and desires. Everyone present seemed to find the chips a very tangible and useful tool.

Learning Outcomes

Design professionals rarely work in isolation; the nature of their work is cross disciplinary yet our educational system continues to keep students in disciplinary silos. One of the important pieces of this class was to promote better understanding of and respect for the sister professions as well as for the significant cultural, political and civic relationships within each community. Based on her observations about watching and discussing the documentary, Corridor of Shame during the course, one student wrote, “The situation is so desperate; it’s hard to fully understand how any relief can be offered to improve the situation. I hate to be so pessimistic, it really is not my nature, but leaps and bounds will have to be accomplished before any noticeable progress will be made. The places like those in the film remind me of all the opportunities in my life that I have to be grateful for and why I want to help other communities become places their citizens will be proud to have grown up in as well.” (M. Childers, MLA 09) Another student wrote, “I would have to say that many of the opinions I had about smaller, rural communities have changed or at least the readings and visits have opened my eyes to deeper investigation of the culture of these communities. That was a large strength of this class in its ability to analyze sensitive topics such as politics and racism in the South, through readings and in viewing it first hand on site visits. I hope this class will continue to be available for future students to take part in, and move toward the objectives that we set out to accomplish.” (S. McKeever, MArch 08)
Rather than promoting an "expert" model of community design, public participation activities illustrate how to "partner" with a community in order to maximize our professional input. It teaches us to be listeners and observers and usually imparts a sense of humility and respect for the people we are working with. Working "in the trenches", walking the streets, talking to community residents of all types helped us to understand the complexities of issues in disadvantaged communities. Based on his experiences in the course, one student wrote, “One of the most important lessons that I will take away from this class is the value of good communication skills. So much of what we’ve studied and seen has illustrated how transparent and open community wide dialogue is necessary for a project of any type to succeed. Without open, clear communication lines people will feel marginalized and become hostile to anything, even ideas they may actually agree with. I think this knowledge/ approach will definitely inform my work throughout my career and ultimately, it will make me a better architect.” (A. Bowman, MArch 08)