Power relations in Participatory Design practices in small and remote places

Small and remote communities have long been on the periphery of conventional development paradigms. To achieve sustainable and equitable development, it is essential to recognize the unique cultural identities and challenges of these areas. This requires a shift from top-down approaches to holistic, community-driven initiatives that emphasize creativity, agency, ownership, and representation. Participatory design (PD) emerges as a vital tool in this context, enabling the active involvement of diverse stakeholders and promoting a more inclusive, democratic, and empowering approach to development. By unpacking the concept of power, we highlight the importance of agency, ownership, and representation in small and remote communities. By facilitating co-creative processes, PD enables the distribution of agency, ownership, and representation, helping balance power dynamics between communities, public administrations, and designers, and thus leading to more equitable decision-making and project implementation. The SMOTIES project, which involved PD practices in various small and remote communities, highlights both the opportunities and challenges of this approach. While PD can lead to increased agency, ownership, and representation, it also requires careful consideration of power imbalances, bureaucratic hurdles, and the need for trust-building and empathy among stakeholders. Ultimately, our contribution advocates for a forward-thinking approach that prioritizes the empowerment of small and remote communities through PD. By doing so, we can foster more inclusive, democratic, and sustainable development that acknowledges the unique strengths and challenges of these contexts.