Creating Impact Through Participatory Design w Larry Yeung | S3E2

I had the privilege of chatting with Larry Yeung, Executive Director of Participate in Design (P!D), a non-profit design organisation that facilitates the integration of community-based participatory processes into urban space design and planning.

In this episode, we discussed the following:

• How participatory design started in Singapore and how it has grown into a large scale projects

• Limits to community engagement

• Something unorthodox that Larry did during his engagement sessions with the community

• Advice for facilitators dealing with people who may have differing opinions during their engagements

• 2024 plans, what is the future of participatory design

• More architecture projects are requiring community engagement/placemaking which requires more collaboration with PiD - PiD 2.0 Research paper (three principles for participatory design)

• How the government, private sector and PiD can work together for projects that will create impact in the community in our built environment

• His views on the use of AI, social media, digital tools and technologies for citizen engagement

• His views on the LTA SimplyGo saga (what went wrong)

• What citizens should do more of especially in terms of upcoming or implemented government/policy changes in Singapore

• His advice for fresh grads who want to join PiD or on participatory design projects (hint: don't)

Projects mentioned:

• Arts @ Macpherson Project

• Fajar Springs Community Kitchen

• LTA MRT Viaduct project (Tanah Merah, Rail Corridor)

Check out more about PiD's projects here: https://participateindesign.org/pid-studio
Download the PiD 2.0 Research paper: https://participateindesign.org/pid20

About Larry

Larry is a designer and community organiser who is a strong advocate for participatory and community-centric design in Singapore. Trained in architecture, he is currently the Executive Director of Participate in Design (P!D), a non-profit design organisation that facilitates the integration of community-based participatory processes into urban space design and planning. Since 2013, Larry’s portfolio of participatory-based projects include neighbourhood planning, public space design, and community art installations. In 2021, he received recognition as a World Cities Summit Young Leader for shaping the global urban agenda. In 2023, he was honored as an outstanding young alumni by the National University of Singapore (NUS) for notable achievements and contributions to Singapore's built environment and participatory design field. Extending from his work at P!D, Larry is also part of CSC-MCCY’s Partnerships and Engagement Experts Panel since November 2022, consulting with public agencies in Singapore on their citizen engagement projects.

You can connect with Larry on Linkedin.