Collaboration in Planning: the Geodesign approach

After proposing Geodesign as a novel approach to spatial planning and design, the paper presents the workflow and the results of a collaborative Geodesign workshop held in May 2016 to design the future development plan of the Cagliari Metropolitan Area in Italy. The workshop results demonstrate how it is possible to involve teams of members of the community in what is perhaps the most critical (and least understood in its dynamics) phase of a spatial planning process, that is putting knowledge into action through the design of future change alternatives. The participatory creation of design alternative is explained with reference to the case study, as well as the negotiation process which through impact assessment converges towards consensus on a final design solution.