Sensing the City. Co-designing Urban Space with Deaf Children and Their Caregivers
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2025
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Abstract
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.This study addressesSpace a relevant, but often overlooked issue: the inclusion of deaf childrenChildren and their caregivers in public spacePublic space. Although efforts have been made to address the needs of people with motor and visual disabilities in urban environmentsEnvironment, the difficulties experienced by this group of people in public spacesPublic space have received little attention. In early childhoodEarly childhood, language development and socialization are critical aspects. For childrenChildren with hearing difficulties, reducing the gaps in their development is imperative. This study is part of the applied research project “Sensing the City”, which is being developed in collaborationCollaborations with the school for deaf childrenChildren Ana Bruzone 197, Montevideo Innovation Laboratory, ARUP and the Bernard Van Leer Foundation. Its main objective is to improve the accessibilityAccessibility and inclusion of these childrenChildren and their caregivers in public spacesPublic space. To achieve this, experimental prototypes have been created inCo - design co-designDesign with the affected group and have been arranged in the public spacePublic space. This has allowed to explore in a situated way the difficulties and opportunities they face when moving and communicating in the street and the neighborhood. The project is not limited to identifying barriers but also seeks to open new perspectives for the development of a city that takes into account all senses. The group of deaf childrenChildren has been actively involved in co-designDesign workshops, which has facilitated the contribution of their ideas and experiences. The data has been collected through analysis of previous studies, participant observation in workshops and evaluation of the prototypes through non-intrusive observation and semi-structured interviews. The results of this study reveal the need to define urban artifacts as prototypes that explore the improvement of visual communication and the creation of safe spacesSpace for play that promote communication through sign language. In addition, the incorporation of other senses, such as smell and touch, to stimulate exploration and play, which expands the opportunities for active and social learning of this group of people, has been examined. In summary, the “Sensing the City” project represents an innovative initiative that effectively addresses the accessibilityAccessibility and inclusion of deaf childrenChildren and their caregivers in public spacesPublic space. This collaborative andCo - design co-designDesign-based approach contributes to envisioning how communication and movement gaps in public spacePublic space could be reduced, thus improving the quality of life of this group and their caregivers.
Description
Keywords
Childhood, Co-design, Deaf space, Inclusive design, Public space, Urban experimentation