Rimaz Mohamed

microMACRO: An Exploration of Regenerative Placemaking with local communities for transformative change

Co-author: Nafeha Asad Khan

Cities are at the heart of many challenges we face today, but the solution to these problems also lies at the heart of the cities — the people who live in them. Conventional understanding and applications of urban design, placemaking, and citizen engagement tend to fall short in addressing the complex needs of the people and the environment they live in. This project explores the blend of the two separate concepts of regenerative design and placemaking, which calls for paradigm shift in underlying narratives, to move away from linear and reductive interventions towards a systems-based, and foresight-embedded approach.

The research, rooted in Toronto, engages with current perspectives of people, the places they exist in, the problems surrounding them and the worldviews that drive them. The gathered insights help frame recommendations with focus on enhancing community engagement practices and to further define the concept of regenerative placemaking.

The learnings gathered provide value to the realms of community engagement, participatory design, and collective foresight.