Thursday, 5 July 2012, 2.30-3.00 pm
Parallel Session 3, Arte-Polis 4 International Conference
Room 1, 4th floor, Architecture Building (Labtek IX B)
Institut Teknologi Bandung

We will be presenting Design It Yourself: Building Connectivity & Local Knowledge, as part of the parallel session of Arte-polis 4 International Conference in Bandung.

Abstract
The popular discourse about creative cities tend to reduce the concept as something elitist and exclusionary, for which only a few cities—lucky enough to be endowed with the supporting ecology, the economic, cultural, social and symbolic capitals, or else the “creative class”—are entitled to. Not enough study has been carried out on how various ways creativity can be untapped in “problem areas”, places not normally considered creative.  This paper presents a case of Design It Yourself, a design forum involving various communities in a casual talk series. It was initiated in October 2011 to form a culturally informed, inter-disciplinary perspective by first focusing on the very basic fundamental knowledge that we often overlook—where a place is, why it is like it is, what its obstacles are, and how potentials can be identified. The strategy and tactics for this forum emphasize on collaborative efforts and small but sustained growth: to try things out small, observe what happens, and reflect on how the bigger picture is changing.