Implementing a Participatory Design Approach to Create a Sensory-Friendly Public Space for Children with Special Needs

This chapter presented a participatory design approach for involving children with special needs in public space regeneration. Specifically, this chapter focused on children with neurodevelopmental disabilities who are hyper- or hypo-sensitive to sensory stimuli or have a unique sensory interest. The study aimed to use the participatory design framework to build a sensory-friendly square based on a case in China. The case study area is located in Ningbo city, enclosed by a rehabilitation centre catering to around 300 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The participatory design approach used in this study began with online questionnaires in which parents of ASD children reported information about their child’s preference when visiting the square. Following the online questionnaires, living lab and focus group methods were used to involve children as key informants and design partners. The living lab equipped with virtual reality devices allowed children to experience a ‘real’ regenerated square and the focus group after each living lab session allowed all stakeholders to provide feedback for design iterations. Preliminary results obtained from the online questionnaires were presented, inspiring several design considerations for square regeneration. The sensory experience of children at the square would be supported via designs such as sensory stations. Common techniques for smart environments were selected to build a smarter square. This chapter not only provided regeneration recommendations for current square space in China but also introduced a feasible framework for actively involving children with special needs in the regeneration process.