Community engagement through research-based design and spatial planning education. Towards a conceptual framework for conditions and tensions

Abstract

Universities worldwide are becoming increasingly interested and active in fighting social inequality and strengthening social cohesion at a local level, often referred to as ‘university–community engagement’, ‘local engagement’, or ‘community outreach’. Many activities are clustered under this heading, such as lifelong learning, volunteerism of staff and students, service-based learning, and participatory research. Despite the rise of internet-based communication, community engagement in education requires face-to-face, reciprocal interactions between stakeholders and community members. While the goals of students, instructors, and community members may partly overlap, community engagement embodies fundamental tensions among the different interests, knowledge, and time frames of these actors. The extent to which these conditions can be met largely affects the level of community engagement. The chapter uses the relevant literature and experiential knowledge to develop a conceptual framework of the basic conditions for and inherent tensions in local university–community engagement in the context of research-based design and spatial planning education.