Participatory Design of Multi-Use Platforms at Sea
by
Sander Van den Burg 1,*, Marian Stuiver 2, Jenny Norrman 3
, Rita Garção 3, Tore Söderqvist 4, Christine Röckmann 5, Jan-Joost Schouten 6, Ole Petersen 7, Raul Guanche García 8, Pedro Diaz-Simal 8, Mark De Bel 9, Lucía Meneses Aja 8, Fabio Zagonari 10, Barbara Zanuttigh 11, Javier Sarmiento 8, Amerissa Giannouli 12,14 and Phoebe Koundouri 12,13,14
, Rita Garção 3, Tore Söderqvist 4, Christine Röckmann 5, Jan-Joost Schouten 6, Ole Petersen 7, Raul Guanche García 8, Pedro Diaz-Simal 8, Mark De Bel 9, Lucía Meneses Aja 8, Fabio Zagonari 10, Barbara Zanuttigh 11, Javier Sarmiento 8, Amerissa Giannouli 12,14 and Phoebe Koundouri 12,13,14
1
LEI Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 29703, 2502 LS The Hague, The Netherlands
2
Alterra Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
3
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
4
Enveco Environmental Economics Consultancy, Måsholmsgränd 3, SE-127 48 Skärholmen, Sweden
5
Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies (IMARES), Wageningen UR, PO Box 57, 1780 AB Den Helder, The Netherlands
6
Department Harbour, Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Deltares, P.O. Box 177, 2600 MH Delft, The Netherlands
7
DHI, Agernalle 5, 2970 Horsholm, Denmark
8
Environmental Hydraulics Institute, IH Cantabria, University of Cantabria, c/ Isabel Torres, 15 Santander, Spain
9
Department Water Resources and Delta Management, Deltares, P.O. Box 177, 2600 MH Delft, The Netherlands
10
Department of Economics, University of Bologna, via Angherà 22, 47921 Rimini, Italy
11
Department of Civil, Chemicals, Environmental and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
12
School of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business, 28is Oktovriou 76, 15125 Athens, Greece
13
Grantham Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton St, WC2A 2AE London, UK
14
International Centre for Research on the Environment and the Economy, Artemidos 6 &Epidavrou, Marousi, 15125 Athens, Greece
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Vincenzo Torretta
Sustainability 2016, 8(2), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020127
Received: 7 December 2015 / Revised: 18 January 2016 / Accepted: 21 January 2016 / Published: 29 January 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Marine Resources under Uncertainty: Economic, Environmental and Social Aspects)
European oceans are subject to rapid development. New activities such as aquaculture and ocean energy have gained importance. This triggers interest in “multi-use platforms at sea” (MUPS), i.e., areas at sea in which different activities are combined. MUPS are complex features with regards to technology, governance, and financial, socioeconomic, and environmental aspects. To identify realistic and sustainable solutions and designs for MUPS, the MERMAID project applied a participatory design process (PDP) involving a range of stakeholders representing companies, authorities, researchers, and NGOs. This paper evaluates if and how the participatory design process contributed to the design of multi-use platforms. It is based on interviews with the managers of the case study sites and a questionnaire administered to all stakeholders participating in the PDP workshops. Analyzing the four case studies, we conclude that the participatory design process has had a valuable contribution to the development of the four different designs of MUPS, even though the preconditions for carrying out a participatory design process differed between sites. In all four cases, the process has been beneficial in generating new and shared knowledge. It brought new design issues to the table and increased knowledge and understanding among the different stakeholders.
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Keywords:
participatory design; multi-use platforms at sea; offshore wind; ocean energy; aquaculture
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MDPI and ACS Style
Van den Burg, S.; Stuiver, M.; Norrman, J.; Garção, R.; Söderqvist, T.; Röckmann, C.; Schouten, J.-J.; Petersen, O.; García, R.G.; Diaz-Simal, P.; De Bel, M.; Meneses Aja, L.; Zagonari, F.; Zanuttigh, B.; Sarmiento, J.; Giannouli, A.; Koundouri, P. Participatory Design of Multi-Use Platforms at Sea. Sustainability 2016, 8, 127.
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