The Co-Design Method

Initially founded by Vancouver-based architect/planner Stanley King in 1971 and further developed by environmental educator Susan Chung, the Co-Design method affords an effective and democratic means of identifying public preference in matters of the built environment.

In its current outreach to Boulder’s youth, GUB is utilizing a Co-Design curriculum specifically targeted towards young people, detailed in King’s and Chung’s Youth Manual (available for download here). Comprised of such exercises as the City on the Wall, PEP (Personal Experience and Perception), A Day in the Life, and a drawing and group voting session, the process aims to help orient youth in their ecological, communal, and embodied context and draw from them design solutions which extend the health of a place and the happiness of its users. Visit the Co-Design youth blog, here. 

Stanley King and Susan Chung at CU ENVD from CUBoulderENVD on Vimeo.

Stanley and Susan visited CU Boulder in December of 2013 to conduct a workshop and lecture on their method for students and faculty of the Program in Environmental Design.

BikeWalk Summit 2014

GUB helped to adapt methods from Co-Design to guide community discussion about pedestrian and cyclist transportation at Boulder’s 2014 annual WalkBike Summit. Along with other community members, students of CU’s Program in Environmental Design and several Growing Up Boulder interns served as graphic facilitators for small groups of Boulder County residents participating in the forum. Photos by Lynn M. Lickteig.