LISTEN
Collective Listening to Communities and Spaces as a Core Capability in Planning Towards 15-minute Suburban Cities
- Category
- Project
- Call
- DUT Call 2022
- Duration
- –
- Project coordinator
- Hasselt University
Project LISTEN aims to develop a framework that enhances the capacity of civil servants and suburban entrepreneurs to guide citizens, organizations, and institutions in super-diverse suburbs of Genk, Malmö, and Vorarlberg toward planning a 15-minute City through Collective Listening. Currently, the project integrates its Listening methodology into local actors’ ongoing processes, projects, and initiatives. The primary challenge lies in navigating power dynamics, tensions, and conflicts among diverse actors—immigrant workers, independent artists, cultural actors, social housing company workers, residents, citizens, civil servants, and local entrepreneurs—while strengthening the process of dialogue.
Key research questions include:
- How can listening to sounds and voices build capacity for sharing interpersonal narratives?
- How can strategies and methods support participation and collective action?
- How can listening capacities be strengthened?
- And how can methods be tailored to the unique, site-specific contexts of each location, given their distinct local characteristics?
In super diverse neighborhoods, we have employed methods of sound recordings to engage actors in discussions about their practices, values, and stories, making collective projects to envision future living scenarios. We found that by playing these recordings during interviews, a strong connection was established among actors, particularly when sounds were introduced before the first question, capturing the listener's attention and encouraging active engagement with the content.
To refine this approach, the team explored podcasting as a powerful listening tool, focusing on creating a "script" to guide the use of sound elements, formulate relevant questions, choose narrative perspectives, and prepare for podcast production. This method allowed actors to reflect deeply on their specific cases through sound-related themes. Podcasting provided the flexibility to continue work across diverse sites, offering opportunities to revisit and analyze collected recordings, ultimately enhancing the process of collaborative reflection and imagination for future community development.
Project LISTEN employs podcasting as a collaborative approach to enhance Collective Listening in super-diverse suburbs. We aim to compile fieldwork findings, recordings, stories, and listening sessions into a community radio tool to strengthen listening within communities. The project focuses on building relationships with residents, civil servants, and entrepreneurs, fostering connections that typically require significant time.
To explore the impact of sound-based engagement, we organized the ‘LISTEN Performance’ event in Hasselt, Belgium, in 2024. This event facilitated narrative processes, revealing collective listening as both reflective and relational, encouraging participants to share personal and collective stories. We are planning additional events to further these outcomes.
Additionally, we are developing a LISTENING TOOLKIT, including listening protocols and sessions, to provide participatory methods and approaches for researchers and practitioners in civic participation, enabling effective engagement and discussion in super-diverse suburban development processes.
Austria
Belgium
Sweden
Cipra International Lab gmbH, Malmö universitet, NGBG, Rosinak & Partner Ziviltechniker gmbH
City of Genk
Links
Contact
Oswald Devisch
oswald.devisch@uhasselt.be