Civic pedagogies are an emergent educational practice, within the arts and architecture, characterised by a situated mode of learning within (and from) the urban environment. Methodologically they are derived from the work of critical pedagogues (Freire, 1974, 1996; Giroux, 2010) and urban educators (Gruenewald, 2003; Mcfarlane, 2011), with a specific aim to realise a collective agency within learners for urban transformation. This paper reflects on the positionality of practice-based activist research, through the co-design of civic pedagogies in complex worlds. Reflecting on two-years of embedded field work within East London, the paper unpacks the core participatory methodological approach of civic pedagogies through one empirical case. The reflections centre on three main areas: Firstly, understanding the process of civic learning as a co-inquiry, with the researcher as both observer and co-learner in a collective learning experience with others. Raising complex discussions around ethics, integrity and companionship, highlighting the need for care ethics in engaged scholarship (Tronto, 1993). Secondly, the importance of co-design processes (Manzini, 2015) to identify local needs, to which a trans-disciplinary curriculum can respond. Understanding how this co-design process itself was an empowering one, that produced agency in participants of the research. Finally, the paper reflects on the role of researcher as an active intermediary, adopting multiple responsibilities and identities to curate the learning process and ultimately bring about change in the research context.
Andy is an ESRC funded PhD candidate at Sheffield School of Architecture and co-director of critical design practice public works. His research interests centre around civic pedagogy, civic resilience, climate care and practice-based activist research. Andy graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2015 with a Masters in Architecture and has an MA (Distinction) in Social Research at the Sheffield Methods Institute. Alongside practice-based research he has extensive experience lecturing and teaching across Architecture and Urban design courses in European Universities.