Rebecca Medeiros_Assignment5a

Henry Sanoff, Community Participation Methods in Design and Planning

Henry Sanoff, in his book, “Community Participation Methods in Design and Planning” (2000) intends to assist in developing the evolving approach of design and planning through community participation so that this approach appears to all to be necessary and essential for future design. Sanoff promotes this argument by explaining the purpose of participation and the benefits and positive impact it has on people, as well as identifying the most significant and effective principles and methods that can be applied to formulate a successful, participatory process of design. Sanoff provides an in-depth analysis on specific methods and how they have been used in real world examples in order to prove that communication, collaboration, and engagement with the community will result in improving, enriching, and strengthening the bond of the lives of a society.Henry Sanoff addresses a professional realm of practitioners and educators in architecture, landscape architects, urban planners, community designers, and community psychologists as well as all readers around the world who are interested in exploring the methods and techniques of approaching design as a means of community participation.

Amira Elnokaly, Review of Community Participation Methods in Design and Planning

In the book review (2009) on “Community Participation Methods in Design and Planning” by Henry Sanoff, Elnokaly claims this book is a successful guide and reliable source on promoting community design and participation as well as understanding and acquiring knowledge on how to use this design approach in future projects. Elnokaly backs this claim up by explaining that Henry Sanoff provides a substantial amount of information on the benefits of participation, methods applicable to this participatory approach, and concrete, first-hand experience of including the community within a design and design process. The purpose of this review is to draw from Sanoff’s idea of the necessary use of a participatory approach in design in order to acquire an understanding that involving a community allows for means of building where it is possible to provide people with a sense of pride, integrity, identity, and enrichment. Elnokaly states that Henry Sanoff’s book is meant to provide knowledge for those who have an interest in improving a society or environment, thus addressing this review to the same audience, which includes a larger spectrum of people than just the professional realm.