Geodesign and completeness indicators for urban areas: a transformative learning experience in urban planning teaching in Brazil

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to present a methodological experience using geodesign as a process and instrument that facilitates citizen awareness and the use of alternative urban parameters in a discipline of an undergraduate course in architecture and urbanism, about urban planning at a local scale.

Design/methodology/approach

Aiming to develop solutions more suited to the reality of the area and attentive to contemporary practices of collaborative urban planning – for and with people – the methodological approach was divided into two complementary steps. The first step was elaborated through a general plan of ideas, with the aid of the Geodesign Hub platform, and for the more detailed second step, we used the Brazilian virtual GISColab geodesign platform. Both steps were conducted in workshop format.

Findings

In this experience, by incorporating geoinformation technology resources, geodesign proved to be a potential tool for creating opinions and decision-making regarding co-creative planning and experimenting with alternative urban parameters.

Originality/value

In the context of a current scenario of city growth oriented from the perspective of motor vehicles, the urban sprawl and in turn, the progressive loss of the human dimension in the urban space, students were introduced and encouraged to reflect on the different functions of the street and on the possibility of measuring urban quality from alternative parameters: completeness indicators.

Citation

Moura, A.C.M., Rosa, A.A., Araújo, B.M.F. and Ferreira, F.A. (2024), "Geodesign and completeness indicators for urban areas: a transformative learning experience in urban planning teaching in Brazil", International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 194-212. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-10-2021-0141