Siberian imaginaries: evaluating participatory placemaking as a tool for civic development of shared spaces in the postcolonial contexts of Yakutsk and Lensk, north-eastern Siberia
type: CreativeWork
description: This PhD by practice examines the potential of participatory placemaking as a tool for the civic development of shared urban spaces in the postcolonial contexts of the cities of Yakutsk and Lensk located in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), North-Eastern Siberia. Inhibited by its colonial history and forced urbanisation during the period of Soviet rule and the rigidity of the current Russian-based planning process, the citizens of Yakutia have little involvement in the imagining and making of the fabric of the city. The research asks: how can participatory placemaking contribute to the civic development of Yakutsk and Lensk by embodying the aspirations of residents and employing other local contextual affordances at city, neighbourhood and building scales? The research methodology is built on three stages of Investigator, Narrator, and Maker in three case studies and two surveys. The facilitate participatory placemaking, Lefebvre’s methods of deduction, induction, translation, transduction, and transposition were applied to provoke the imagination and aid the representation of alternative futures by participants. The research methods used for data collection included facilitation of co-design workshops, hands-on building initiatives, and snowballing interviews. These research methods use the community auto-ethnographic lens to empower local participants as the main decision makers. The case studies of Oyuur Park in Lensk and Dog City in Yakutsk test the top-down and bottom-up approaches of participatory design. The third case study of the Amphitheatre Project in London was added to compare Yakutian learning-by-making practices with western ones. The survey of snowballing interviews assesses newly emerging participatory design practices in Yakutia in comparison with the practices in Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, and the UK to define its characteristics. The final survey of Siberian Imaginaries built on found local affordances tests further the theory of urban imagin…
abstract: This PhD by practice examines the potential of participatory placemaking as a tool for the civic development of shared urban spaces in the postcolonial contexts of the cities of Yakutsk and Lensk located in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), North-Eastern Siberia. Inhibited by its colonial history and forced urbanisation during the period of Soviet rule and the rigidity of the current Russian-based planning process, the citizens of Yakutia have little involvement in the imagining and making of the fabric of the city. The research asks: how can participatory placemaking contribute to the civic development of Yakutsk and Lensk by embodying the aspirations of residents and employing other local contextual affordances at city, neighbourhood and building scales? The research methodology is built on three stages of Investigator, Narrator, and Maker in three case studies and two surveys. The facilitate participatory placemaking, Lefebvre’s methods of deduction, induction, translation, transduction, and transposition were applied to provoke the imagination and aid the representation of alternative futures by participants. The research methods used for data collection included facilitation of co-design workshops, hands-on building initiatives, and snowballing interviews. These research methods use the community auto-ethnographic lens to empower local participants as the main decision makers. The case studies of Oyuur Park in Lensk and Dog City in Yakutsk test the top-down and bottom-up approaches of participatory design. The third case study of the Amphitheatre Project in London was added to compare Yakutian learning-by-making practices with western ones. The survey of snowballing interviews assesses newly emerging participatory design practices in Yakutia in comparison with the practices in Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, and the UK to define its characteristics. The final survey of Siberian Imaginaries built on found local affordances tests further the theory of urban imagin…
author: Sivtseva, Maiia
keywords: 300 Social sciences, 710 Civic & landscape art, 720 Architecture
date published: 2023-05
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:54:47Z
provider: London Metropolitan University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: London Metropolitan University