Mobile Design as Neighborhood Acupuncture: Activating the Storytelling Networks of South Los Angeles

Punctual Urbanisms: Rapid Planning Responses to Urban Problems

“…The third pitfall is the disregard for expertise in favor of romanticized amateurism, which may or may not result in successful interventions. This critique could equally apply to other punctual urbanisms, including DIY urbanism (Douglas 2014), tactical urbanism (Mould 2014), and urban acupuncture (Stokes et al 2015), and doesn’t necessarily apply to examples provided by Hou (2010; housekeepers occupying exterior private space in Hong Kong) or Crisman and Kim (2019; street vendors), suggesting that these authors are using this term to mean different things.…”

“…Planning authors affirm urban acupuncture is not to cure urban problems but to limit their harmful influences by poking civic networks into action at strategic places in a quick and precise manner (Messeter 2015; Stokes et al 2015; Lerner 2014). For Houghton, Foth, and Miller (2015), the interventions are meant to act as sparks that motivate people to get involved in placemaking by reinvigorating neighborhoods.…”

“…For instance, the first pedestrian zone in Curitiba, Brazil, was implemented by the local government in just three days (Lerner 2014). This project employed a low-cost and light-touch approach (Stokes et al 2015), characteristic of urban acupuncture. Another example is the Urb[BNE] Design Collective, which engaged artists, volunteers, and businesses to propose and implement urban projects in Brisbane, Australia (Houghton, Foth, and Miller 2015).…”

“…Urban acupuncture can do more harm than good if outsiders consider community members as their target audience instead of the local experts partnering with them (Stokes et al 2015). Likewise, the hastiness that is representative of urban acupuncture may limit the quality of certain urban projects, requiring costly modifications in the long run.…”

Best Practices for Engaging Underserved Populations

“…Some research teams have had success going door to door, while others have found that certain communities are not as receptive to individuals coming into their homes and therefore do not answer their doors. Finding subjects in public areas (e.g., coffee shops, grocery stores) can be effective since the public space is familiar and widely trusted (Stokes, Villanueva, Bar, & Ball-Rokeach, 2015). This can also be a way to gain trust of individuals, assuming that the coffee shops and grocery stores support the research being done.…”