I develop and study playful, creative, and digital approaches that bring urban transitions to the daily lives of people.

Interests

I am an expert in developing and studying participatory and co-design methods in the urban context. My mission is to increase awareness of which groups are excluded in current participation processes and which methods we should use to involve residents who are often overlooked. I strongly believe this is necessary to address the major challenges of our time (climate change, polarization, big tech) in a way that is fair to all and benefits all groups.

Participation methods and co-design are central to my research. By applying these methods, residents feel more connected to their neighbourhood and city and are motivated to contribute to it. I am good at designing accessible and attractive participation methods for groups who often do not participate in the development of the city. I study and use playful, creative, and digital approaches to support different citizen groups to feel (more) connected to and take ownership of their neighbourhoods. I obtained my PhD from Delft University of Technology in 2022. The title of my thesis is ‘Together we make places: Designing connections in urban spaces‘.

With my expertise, I can help you develop ways to involve residents in a transition or project that takes place at the neighbourhood level. Particularly topics or transitions that most residents initially have no interest in. For example, the energy transition, or increasing biodiversity. I support the design of tools and methods based on co-design, to get residents involved. My research often takes place in neighbourhoods with a great diversity of residents in terms of (cultural) background.

Contact me

You can always write me an email: g.slingerland@tudelft.nl.