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Peer-Review Record

Towards Resilient and Inclusive Cities: A Framework for Sustainable Street-Level Urban Design

Urban Sci. 2024, 8(4), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci8040264
by Juan Sádaba *, Ylenia Alonso, Itxaro Latasa and Arantzazu Luzarraga
Reviewer 1: Anonymous
Reviewer 2: Anonymous
Reviewer 3:
Reviewer 4:
Urban Sci. 2024, 8(4), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci8040264
Submission received: 19 November 2024 / Revised: 13 December 2024 / Accepted: 15 December 2024 / Published: 23 December 2024

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript explores strategies for creating resilient and inclusive cities through sustainable street-level urban design, aligning with SDG 11 targets. Using a qualitative mixed-methods approach—including keyword analysis, expert interviews, and case study reviews—it identifies key themes like modular design, Nature-Based Solutions, and pedestrian prioritization. It is an interesting article. However, here are some remarks for improvement.

1.      While the case studies are relevant, the rationale for their geographic limitation to the Basque Country could be expanded to justify generalizability.

2.      The Pugh Chart is well-applied, but the scoring methodology might benefit from clearer justification for assigned values.

3.      Examples of cost analyses for implementation are missing.

4.      For Target 11.5, “Sustainable Logistics” scored the highest (0.98). How does this impact practical recommendations compared to lower-scoring aspects like “Multifunctionality” (0.5)?

5.      “Green Spaces” scored +1 in some cases but -1 in others. Can the authors clarify the criteria for these judgments to ensure consistency?

 

6.      Only 248 of 501 entries in the keyword analysis included “sustainability” as a keyword. Is this low percentage a sign that sustainability is not yet fully integrated into academic urban design discussions?

Author Response

This manuscript explores strategies for creating resilient and inclusive cities through sustainable street-level urban design, aligning with SDG 11 targets. Using a qualitative mixed-methods approach—including keyword analysis, expert interviews, and case study reviews—it identifies key themes like modular design, Nature-Based Solutions, and pedestrian prioritization. It is an interesting article. However, here are some remarks for improvement.

  1. While the case studies are relevant, the rationale for their geographic limitation to the Basque Country could be expanded to justify generalizability

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for this comment. We have strengthened the reasoning in Section 5.1  - Limitations on how the choice of a specific geographic area can benefit the long-term research and justify generalizability, with references to specific claims and goals of design research, with which our research project aligns (lines 1109-1113). We have also added several paragraphs to better frame this research process (from specific, limited cases to general frameworks) within the scope of practice-based design  (see lines 118-123; 143-151; 1109-1113). The following references have been added: 

Zimmerman, J., Stolterman, E., & Forlizzi, J. (2010, August). An analysis and critique of Research through Design: towards a formalization of a research approach. In Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 310-319). ACM

Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., & Evenson, S. (2007, April). Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 493-502). ACM.

Stappers, P. J., & Giaccardi, E. (2017). Research through Design. In M. Soegaard, & R. Friis-Dam (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction (2nd ed., pp. 1-94). The Interaction Design Foundation.

Brandt, E., & Binder, T. (2007). Experimental design research: genealogy, intervention, argument. International Association of Societies of Design Research, Hong Kong.

Gaver, W. (2012, May). What should we expect from research through design?. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 937-946). ACM.

Darier, É., & Schüle, R. (1999). Think globally, act locally’? Climate change and public participation in Manchester and Frankfurt. Local Environment, 4(3), 317–329.

Geddes, P. Cities in Evolution: An Introduction to the Town Planning Movement and to the Study of Civics; Williams & Norgate: London, UK, 1915.

Luck, R. "Design Research, Architectural Research, Architectural Design Research: An Argument on Disciplinarity and Identity." Design Studies 65 (2019): 152–166.

  1. The Pugh Chart is well-applied, but the scoring methodology might benefit from clearer justification for assigned values

Authors’ reply: The scoring methodology of the Pugh Chart is borrowed from the original methodology (Pugh, 1991). Pugh assigns numerical values of  +1, 0, and -1 for the assessment of the design. This is a numerical way of addressing ‘better’, ‘equal,’ or ‘worse’. In this study, the research team collectively assessed each parameter for each case based on the judgement of  ‘better’, ‘equal,’ or ‘worse’ than the reference case which has value ‘zero’ by default and has been chosen to represent the state of the art in that particular aspect. The process is detailed in lines 838-842.

  1. Examples of cost analyses for implementation are missing. 

Authors’ reply: We did not consider this factor relevant for a design framework analysis. it would be taken into consideration in the specific application of each design as a response to the financial capability of each implementation.

  1. For Target 11.5, “Sustainable Logistics” scored the highest (0.98). How does this impact practical recommendations compared to lower-scoring aspects like “Multifunctionality” (0.5)? 

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for giving us the opportunity to dig deeper into these two concepts. We have now clarified the relationship between the role of Sustainable Logistics and Multifunctionality. We have added the following paragraphs to this end:

Section 3.4 

(lines 789-794): High value (0.98), Sustainable logistics has a direct impact on the capacity of a city to react to emergency and natural disasters, for instance by ensuring the rapid and efficient distribution of essential resources during emergencies or disasters, having a direct and tangible impact on this goal. Its high score indicates that, within the context of sustainable urban design, this category should be prioritized in practical recommendations (see Section 4.1).

 

(line 775-797): Multifunctionality supports the adaptability of public spaces to accommodate various uses and needs, offering long-term benefits for urban resilience. As such, it can also support adaptation to emergency contexts (see Section 4.1). However, in such contexts, where speed and logistics are critical, its practical priority is lower compared to "Sustainable Logistics."

 

Section 3 .6 (former 4.1)
(lines 946-953): While this parameter aligns mainly with SDG 11.3 (see Section 3.4), from a design perspective it is worth considering its impact - however indirect - on the adaptability of the urban space in facing emergency situations (such as extreme climatic events). A multifunctional approach could facilitate, for instance, the transformation and adaptation of the public space to accommodate temporary shelters or supply distribution areas in emergency situations. A long - term planning of a multifunctional city could incorporate modular and multifunctional urban furniture to maximize space efficiency.

(lines 970-977): Practical recommendations should focus on designing and adapting urban infrastructure to support sustainable and efficient logistics by prioritizing designated loading and unloading zones, decentralized urban logistics hubs, and the use of sustainable vehicles for last-mile distribution. Additionally, as shown in Section 3.4, Sustainable Logistics can play a crucial role during an emergency crisis within the city space.

  1. “Green Spaces” scored +1 in some cases but -1 in others. Can the authors clarify the criteria for these judgments to ensure consistency?

Authors’ reply: The scoring methodology of the Pugh Chart is borrowed from the original methodology (Pugh, 1991). Pugh assigns numerical values of  +1, 0, and -1 for the assessment of the design. This is a numerical way of addressing ‘better’, ‘equal,’ or ‘worse’. In this study, the research team collectively assessed each parameter for each case based on the judgement of  ‘better’, ‘equal,’ or ‘worse’ than the reference case which has value ‘zero’ by default and has been chosen to represent the state of the art in that particular aspect. The process is detailed in lines 851-875.

  1. Only 248 of 501 entries in the keyword analysis included “sustainability” as a keyword. Is this low percentage a sign that sustainability is not yet fully integrated into academic urban design discussions? 

Authors’ reply: Our interpretation of the matter is that Sustainability is such a consistently overarching concept that authors tend not to add it again as a keyword in the ‘keywords section’.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors, 

The manuscript, “Towards Resilient and Inclusive Cities: A Framework for Sustainable Street-level Urban Design,” focuses on enhancing street-level interactions to create inclusive, resilient cities. The study uses a qualitative mixed-methods approach, including keyword analysis, semi-structured interviews, and comparative case studies in the Basque Country. Key themes include sustainable water management, Nature-based Solutions (NBS), technological integration, and pedestrian prioritization. The study concludes with a checklist for urban furniture design to inform future research and prototyping.

Here, The following points need further consideration:

First, the introduction could benefit from a more explicit statement of the research problem and objectives. While the context is well-explained, a more concise articulation of the research questions or hypotheses would strengthen the manuscript. The references in the introduction section should be updated. The following recent manuscripts can strengthen the argument of urban design and street activities.

  1. Effect of people on placemaking and affective atmospheres in city streets
  2. Living Structure Down to Earth and Up to Heaven: Christopher Alexander

Second, the keyword analysis excludes books and congress papers, potentially overlooking valuable insights. Limiting interviewees to four may only partially capture the breadth of expertise across urban design. The evaluation and results rely heavily on the research judgment, which may introduce bias.

Third, while the study concludes with a checklist for urban furniture design, discussing the practical implications of these findings for urban planners and policymakers would enhance the manuscript’s impact.

Fourth, another challenging issue that needs to be added to the discussion is linking the current study with previous studies in other cities around the Globe that have good opportunities or challenges in street life.

Fifth, there are a few minor issues that need to be adjusted. The use of future tense in certain parts of this manuscript should be revised. The discussion section should employ the present tense, while the results section should employ the past tense. Figure 1 illustrates the research structure; however, the resolution of the other figures should be improved.

Author Response

The manuscript, “Towards Resilient and Inclusive Cities: A Framework for Sustainable Street-level Urban Design,” focuses on enhancing street-level interactions to create inclusive, resilient cities. The study uses a qualitative mixed-methods approach, including keyword analysis, semi-structured interviews, and comparative case studies in the Basque Country. Key themes include sustainable water management, Nature-based Solutions (NBS), technological integration, and pedestrian prioritization. The study concludes with a checklist for urban furniture design to inform future research and prototyping.

Here, The following points need further consideration:

First, the introduction could benefit from a more explicit statement of the research problem and objectives. While the context is well-explained, a more concise articulation of the research questions or hypotheses would strengthen the manuscript.

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for this comment which helped us strengthen our manuscript. We have now added the following paragraph (lines 104-118) which clarifies the research problem and related questions:

‘The research actions conducted in this research project are oriented towards delivering tangible design outcomes (e.g. prototypes of novel urban furniture solutions). The present article reports the results of a preliminary phase of the project where we aimed at establishing a research framework grounded in experimental data to serve as a guide for the design of novel solutions in the upcoming phase (currently under development). The project responds to the following research questions: do we need a specific set of tools for the design of urban furniture and public space in the current, largely unprecedented,  social, technological and environmental situation? Is there a new or renewed framework of design, both global and local, to work with? Our initial hypothesis is that there is a need for a renewed framework for public spaces design and urban elements (furniture and else) that demand a revisited set of design tools and methods. We intend to confirm this conjectural hypothesis by gathering insights from experts, checking research tendencies and compare/assess the success of similar design endeavours over time.  To answer the research questions and validate our hypothesis we took a methodological approach framed within the boundaries of practice-based research, which ‘is an approach to scientific inquiry that takes advantage of the unique insights gained through design practice to provide a better understanding of complex and future-oriented issues in the design field.’

 

The references in the introduction section should be updated. The following recent manuscripts can strengthen the argument of urban design and street activities. 

  1. Effect of people on placemaking and affective atmospheres in city streets. 
  2. Living Structure Down to Earth and Up to Heaven: Christopher Alexander.

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for this tip. We included the first one, however, we did not find the second one fit our article. Several other references have been added: 

Zimmerman, J., Stolterman, E., & Forlizzi, J. (2010, August). An analysis and critique of Research through Design: towards a formalization of a research approach. In Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 310-319). ACM

Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., & Evenson, S. (2007, April). Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 493-502). ACM.

Stappers, P. J., & Giaccardi, E. (2017). Research through Design. In M. Soegaard, & R. Friis-Dam (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction (2nd ed., pp. 1-94). The Interaction Design Foundation.

Brandt, E., & Binder, T. (2007). Experimental design research: genealogy, intervention, argument. International Association of Societies of Design Research, Hong Kong.

Gaver, W. (2012, May). What should we expect from research through design?. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 937-946). ACM.

Darier, É., & Schüle, R. (1999). Think globally, act locally’? Climate change and public participation in Manchester and Frankfurt. Local Environment, 4(3), 317–329.

Geddes, P. Cities in Evolution: An Introduction to the Town Planning Movement and to the Study of Civics; Williams & Norgate: London, UK, 1915.

Luck, R. "Design Research, Architectural Research, Architectural Design Research: An Argument on Disciplinarity and Identity." Design Studies 65 (2019): 152–166.

We believe that this helps the readers to better frame not only our goals, but also the impact that our research will have both on the studied region and on the broader community of designers and architects. 

Additionally, a reflection on the need to understand our framework globally to act locally and find a regional/local reference case has been included in point 2, together with related references. (lines 157-164).

Geddes, Patrick (1915). Cities in Evolution. London: Williams.

Risley, A. Think Globally, Act Locally: Community-Engaged Comparative Politics. PS: Political Science & Politics 2019, 52, 733–736.

Second, the keyword analysis excludes books and congress papers, potentially overlooking valuable insights. Limiting interviewees to four may only partially capture the breadth of expertise across urban design. The evaluation and results rely heavily on the research judgment, which may introduce bias

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for allowing us to clarify this point. We have now added the following paragraph to this end (lines 242-253): 

“This was motivated by the fact that in Scopus, only some books contain keywords proposed by the author(s), and not all of them have an abstract. Additionally, in order to include sources with different indexing criteria (in this case research articles, books and book chapters, and conference proceedings) and avoid possible biases, it would have been necessary to search in fields common to all sources. This would have required us to limit the search to the titles of the publications since the title is the only common indexing field in the three sources mentioned. The research team made the decision to limit the sources to research articles and extend the search to keywords and abstract. In this way, it was possible to include publications in which the terms of interest were not necessarily part of the title but could have been incorporated by the authors in the keywords or in the abstract.” 

Third, while the study concludes with a checklist for urban furniture design, discussing the practical implications of these findings for urban planners and policymakers would enhance the manuscript's impact. 

Authors’ reply: This is a very good point and improved the approach of our research. We added a reflection related to it in lines 1004-1013.

Fourth, another challenging issue that needs to be added to the discussion is linking the current study with previous studies in other cities around the Globe that have good opportunities or challenges in street life. 

Authors’ reply: We added references to cases like Graz (Austria), Oxford Street (London), Guangzhou, China, Shenzhen, China, Beijing, China, Twin Cities, USA (Minneapolis), Manchester, and Frankfurt (lines 307-313).

The relevant references to these cases were added: 

Abusaada, H.; Elshater, A. Effect of People on Placemaking and Affective Atmospheres in City Streets. Ain Shams Eng. J. 2021, 12, 1565–1577.

Wang, D., Ed.; He, S., Ed. Mobility, Sociability and Well-being of Urban Living; Springer: Singapore, 2020.

Fifth, there are a few minor issues that need to be adjusted. The use of future tense in certain parts of this manuscript should be revised. The discussion section should employ the present tense, while the results section should employ the past tense

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for spotting this inconsistency - it has now been addressed and solved. 

Figure 1 illustrates the research structure; however, the resolution of the other figures should be improved

Authors’ reply: Thanks, all the figures have now been double-checked and exported in higher resolution.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Authors have studied street-level urban design based on a local case project for sustainable city through mixed qualitative approach. Although it is noticed that authors have done combined interview and comparative analysis considering urban furniture, mobility, sustainability, technology etc, I cannot recommend the paper for publication at the present form. Major points are given below, which will be hopefully helpful for improving the paper for future submissions:

Firstly, authors should strictly follow the Journal author instruction for manuscript preparation. For instance,  citations and references do not meet the MDPI unified styles. It seems like the manuscript might be transferred from another journal. 

Then, the main limitation lies in the academic value for the case-based analysis whereas on a macro problematic 'framework' focused study. There abounds in available research on resilient sustainable and smart city design or renovation. What is the key advantage or advances for the studied region, over others.

Authors need to massively extend the literature review on similar topics with global view, as well as benchmark comparison with related cases or methods. Reconsider the main scientific progress for this work. Why such case is typical? 

The whole stuff may be re-structured in a more inductive manner and order, especially for the results part. The 3.1 keyword analysis section on publications show weak links to the main qualitative study. And it make little sense on the final finding. Furthermore, the authors should clarify the stratified relationships among the considering aspects, including mobility, sustainability and technology. 

What is the main difference between the used term 'resilient' and 'sustainable'? Then the methodology section is lacking in detail. Please state the detailed selection conditions and all assumptions on the sampling expertise interview and data coding.

Is it possible to generalize the results of this study to other regions or countries with either similar or different status and conditions? The discussion seems to be separated into several aspects? Only 4.1, where is 4.2? Explain how your research has moved the body of scientific knowledge forward.

Author Response

Authors have studied street-level urban design based on a local case project for a sustainable city through a mixed qualitative approach. Although it is noticed that authors have done combined interviews and comparative analyses considering urban furniture, mobility, sustainability, technology, etc, I cannot recommend the paper for publication in the present form. Major points are given below, which will hopefully be helpful for improving the paper for future submissions:

Firstly, authors should strictly follow the Journal author instruction for manuscript preparation. For instance,  citations and references do not meet the MDPI unified styles. It seems like the manuscript might be transferred from another journal. 

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for highlighting this issue - we have now prepared the references according to the Journal’s guidelines. 

Then, the main limitation lies in the academic value for the case-based analysis whereas a macro problematic 'framework' focused study. There abounds in available research on resilient sustainable and smart city design or renovation. What is the key advantage or advances for the studied region, over others. Authors need to massively extend the literature review on similar topics with a global view, as well as benchmark comparison with related cases or methods. Reconsider the main scientific progress for this work. Why such a case is typical

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for this remark. We have now strengthened the focus of our research project within the context of practice-based research and added several paragraphs to this end, see lines 118-123; 143-151; 1109-1113. The following references have been added: 

Zimmerman, J., Stolterman, E., & Forlizzi, J. (2010, August). An analysis and critique of Research through Design: towards a formalization of a research approach. In Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 310-319). ACM

Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., & Evenson, S. (2007, April). Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 493-502). ACM.

Stappers, P. J., & Giaccardi, E. (2017). Research through Design. In M. Soegaard, & R. Friis-Dam (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction (2nd ed., pp. 1-94). The Interaction Design Foundation.

Brandt, E., & Binder, T. (2007). Experimental design research: genealogy, intervention, argument. International Association of Societies of Design Research, Hong Kong.

Gaver, W. (2012, May). What should we expect from research through design?. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 937-946). ACM.

Darier, É., & Schüle, R. (1999). Think globally, act locally’? Climate change and public participation in Manchester and Frankfurt. Local Environment, 4(3), 317–329.

Geddes, P. Cities in Evolution: An Introduction to the Town Planning Movement and to the Study of Civics; Williams & Norgate: London, UK, 1915.

Luck, R. "Design Research, Architectural Research, Architectural Design Research: An Argument on Disciplinarity and Identity." Design Studies 65 (2019): 152–166.

We believe that this helps the readers to better frame not only our goals, but also the impact that our research will have both on the studied region and on the broader community of designers and architects. 

Additionally, a reflection on the need to understand our framework globally to act locally and find a regional/local reference case has been included in point 2, together with related references. (lines 157-164).

Geddes, Patrick (1915). Cities in Evolution. London: Williams.

Risley, A. Think Globally, Act Locally: Community-Engaged Comparative Politics. PS: Political Science & Politics 2019, 52, 733–736.

The whole stuff may be re-structured in a more inductive manner and order, especially for the results part. 

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for this comment. To make the results section more consistent, we have now moved Section 4.1 - Design checklist as part of the Results.

The 3.1 keyword analysis section on publications show weak links to the main qualitative study. And it makes little sense on the final finding

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for giving us the opportunity to clarify our work. We have now added a paragraph in Section 3.1 to this end (lines 402-409). 

The goal of the keyword analysis was to help us map global tendencies within the research community as related to the topic under study (i.e. the sustainable and egalitarian city of the future) from a design practice-based research (see Introduction). Consequently, the analysis was intended to be an initial ‘trigger’ for team reflection: it helped us draft the boundaries and acted as an initial delimitation of the area(s) of study which served as a canvas for the subsequent phases of the study.

 

Furthermore, the authors should clarify the stratified relationships among the considering aspects, including mobility, sustainability, and technology.

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for this comment. The considering aspects are related by their inclusion and recurrence in the realm of SDG11 and are confirmed by the practical experience of the authors. Hence, they are used as primary conjectural exploratory criteria in a practice-based research that aims to iteratively define theoretical frameworks which are, conversely, fed by applied designs. 

What is the main difference between the used term 'resilient' and 'sustainable'? 

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for the sharp point. It is true that the two terms are sometimes overused , and not always properly applied. We have now added a paragraph (lines 85-94) to further clarify our take on this issue:

“ In the context of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [19], in general, resilience is embedded within the SDGs as a component of sustainability. While sustainability and resilience are interrelated—both aiming to ensure long-term well-being—they differ in focus. Sustainability is about maintaining balanced development across various dimensions for the future, whereas resilience emphasizes the capacity to adapt and transform in response to immediate and long-term challenges. In the practice-based research approach that we present in this article, while sustainability is a general goal, design represents the strategic asset to enhance the capability of cities to resiliently adapt to the current circumstances.”

Then the methodology section is lacking in detail. Please state the detailed selection conditions and all assumptions on the sampling expertise interview and data coding

Authors’ reply: We thank again the detailed review of the methodology. As for the interviews, we added further explanations of the selection rationale (lines 261 - 267) and additional references (Stokes 2011). Section 3.2 provides in detail the coding for each interviewees. We would be very happy to provide more information on demand or as an added/supplementary documentation, including names and data of the interviewees. 

Is it possible to generalize the results of this study to other regions or countries with either similar or different status and conditions? 

Authors’ reply: We think that this is a very good point to tackle from the point of view of the research methodology and we actually think that this can be considered as one important asset of this study, in which the process from the global to the local fit with the concepts of global sustainability and local resilience. However, this comment helped us improve the text in this article by adding lines 152-160 in the Materials and Methods section.: “The concept of ‘thinking globally and acting locally’ is key for an effective urban design that balances global awareness with local specificity [24]. By thinking globally, we align strategies with universal trends, challenges and environmental problems, such as sustainable resource management and carbon reduction [25]. Acting locally, we ensure that these strategies are grounded in the unique cultural, social, and environmental context of a specific place. Conversely, the study of local actions can be replicated in a globally set of applicable tools, filtered through the local specificities of a given topologically defined urban situation [26]”

The discussion seems to be separated into several aspects? Only 4.1, where is 4.2

Authors’ reply: We are willing to agree with the reviewer’s remark and have now moved Section 4.1 - Design checklist as part of the Results (Section 3.6).

Explain how your research has moved the body of scientific knowledge forward.

Authors’ reply: We would like to refer the reviewer to the preview reply regarding practice based research. Our work shares its goals and vision in that research through design (RtD) is an approach to scientific inquiry that takes advantage of the unique insights gained through design practice to provide a better understanding of complex and future-oriented issues in the design field. More specific comments related to the positive advancement of research in our field were also added (lines 1109-1113). The following references were added to support our approach:

Zimmerman, J., Stolterman, E., & Forlizzi, J. (2010, August). An analysis and critique of Research through Design: towards a formalization of a research approach. In Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 310-319). ACM

Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., & Evenson, S. (2007, April). Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 493-502). ACM.

Stappers, P. J., & Giaccardi, E. (2017). Research through Design. In M. Soegaard, & R. Friis-Dam (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction (2nd ed., pp. 1-94). The Interaction Design Foundation.

Brandt, E., & Binder, T. (2007). Experimental design research: genealogy, intervention, argument. International Association of Societies of Design Research, Hong Kong.

Gaver, W. (2012, May). What should we expect from research through design?. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 937-946). ACM.

Darier, É., & Schüle, R. (1999). Think globally, act locally’? Climate change and public participation in Manchester and Frankfurt. Local Environment, 4(3), 317–329.

Geddes, P. Cities in Evolution: An Introduction to the Town Planning Movement and to the Study of Civics; Williams & Norgate: London, UK, 1915.

Luck, R. "Design Research, Architectural Research, Architectural Design Research: An Argument on Disciplinarity and Identity." Design Studies 65 (2019): 152–166.

Godin, D., and Zahedi, M. (2014) Aspects of Research through Design: A Literature Review, in Lim, Y., Niedderer, K., Redstrom, J., Stolterman, E. and Valtonen, A. (eds.), Design's Big Debates - DRS International Conference 2014, 16-19 June, Umea, Sweden. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conferencepapers/drs2014/researchpapers/85

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Summary

Using a variety of data inputs including keyword analysis, interviews and case studies, the paper describes the derivation of a 12-item checklist for urban furniture design in the Basque region of northern Spain. Three themes were identified: mobility and technology, sustainability and citizen-city interaction. The 12 factors identified were scored for six cities.

Assessment

An interesting study with very comprehensive data gathering and analysis. The method would lend itself for more important uses in city planning than just street furniture, indeed the large scale of the study perhaps dwarfs the relatively insignificant use to which it is put.

Nevertheless, the method is scientifically sound and replicable, given access to the data the availability of which is unstated in the paper. The paper’s strength lies in the comprehensiveness of its data gathering and analysis, its weakness is the disjoint between the scale of the study and the use to which it will be put. The discussion and conclusions are consistent with the findings.

The design checklist in Section 4.1 links the research to possible policy uses and its inclusion is commendable. The paper noted that the experts’ interviews and case study analysis were limited in their geographical scope but this does not detract from the worth of the study.

The Figures and Tables are clear and of sufficient size to be legible. The authors state no conflict of interest. The English is quite satisfactory. Apart from 3 references, the rest are all post-2000, indeed many are from the past decade.

Specific Comments

Line 85 While we know about the devastating floods in Valencia and your reference describes them, the text should go further than state “the recent tragic events in Spain”. Suggest “the tragic flooding events in Valencia in Spain in November 2024.”

Line 660 “we assigned values between 0 and 1 to each category” It would be useful to describe how you reached the values. If it was joint judgements, say so. Some of the values, e.g. 0.57 appear very specific.

Line 754 – 794 The analysis of Table 2 comprehensively covered all 12 factors. However, it did not examine the changes vertically, i.e. for each location. It is evident, for example, that Gran Via and Supermanzanas performed exceptionally well compared with the other locations. I appreciate that this is partly covered by Figure 8 but the text offers no discussion of this.

Line 901 “heath waves”

Page 24. 12-point checklist. I do not see any recognition of the impact of climate change in this checklist – higher temperatures, heavier rainfalls.

Author Response

Summary

Using a variety of data inputs including keyword analysis, interviews and case studies, the paper describes the derivation of a 12-item checklist for urban furniture design in the Basque region of northern Spain. Three themes were identified: mobility and technology, sustainability and citizen-city interaction. The 12 factors identified were scored for six cities.

Assessment

An interesting study with very comprehensive data gathering and analysis. The method would lend itself for more important uses in city planning than just street furniture, indeed the large scale of the study perhaps dwarfs the relatively insignificant use to which it is put. Fantastic!!!

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for these positive and encouraging comments.

Nevertheless, the method is scientifically sound and replicable, given access to the data the availability of which is unstated in the paper. The paper’s strength lies in the comprehensiveness of its data gathering and analysis, its weakness is the disjoint between the scale of the study and the use to which it will be put. The discussion and conclusions are consistent with the findings. 

Authors’ reply: We appreciate the reviewer’s remarks on the slight inconsistency between the scales of the study. However, from a practiced-based research perspective  we strongly believe in an iterative approach that leverages real-world cases - some of those were designed by the authors - to programmatically ( define a general design framework which is nurtured iteratively and adjusted through new designs based on the same framework. We have now added a clarification of practiced-based research strategy (see lines 118-123; 143-151; 1109-1113). The following references have been added: 

Zimmerman, J., Stolterman, E., & Forlizzi, J. (2010, August). An analysis and critique of Research through Design: towards a formalization of a research approach. In Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 310-319). ACM

Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., & Evenson, S. (2007, April). Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 493-502). ACM.

Stappers, P. J., & Giaccardi, E. (2017). Research through Design. In M. Soegaard, & R. Friis-Dam (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction (2nd ed., pp. 1-94). The Interaction Design Foundation.

Brandt, E., & Binder, T. (2007). Experimental design research: genealogy, intervention, argument. International Association of Societies of Design Research, Hong Kong.

Gaver, W. (2012, May). What should we expect from research through design?. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 937-946). ACM.

Darier, É., & Schüle, R. (1999). Think globally, act locally’? Climate change and public participation in Manchester and Frankfurt. Local Environment, 4(3), 317–329.

Geddes, P. Cities in Evolution: An Introduction to the Town Planning Movement and to the Study of Civics; Williams & Norgate: London, UK, 1915.

Luck, R. "Design Research, Architectural Research, Architectural Design Research: An Argument on Disciplinarity and Identity." Design Studies 65 (2019): 152–166.

The design checklist in Section 4.1 links the research to possible policy uses and its inclusion is commendable. The paper noted that the experts’ interviews and case study analysis were limited in their geographical scope but this does not detract from the worth of the study.

Authors’ reply: We thank the reviewer for this encouraging comment. 

The Figures and Tables are clear and of sufficient size to be legible. The authors state no conflict of interest. The English is quite satisfactory. Apart from 3 references, the rest are all post-2000, indeed many are from the past decade.

Authors’ reply: Your comments are noted with thanks. 

Specific Comments

Line 85 While we know about the devastating floods in Valencia and your reference describes them, the text should go further than state “the recent tragic events in Spain”. Suggest “the tragic flooding events in Valencia in Spain in November 2024.”

Authors’ reply: Thank you for the suggestion, which has now been incorporated into the text.

Line 660 “we assigned values between 0 and 1 to each category” It would be useful to describe how you reached the values. If it was joint judgements, say so. Some of the values, e.g. 0.57 appear very specific.

Authors’ reply: We have now clarified our methodology by adding the following paragraph (lines 731-763): 

The values assigned to each category, within the range of 0 to 1, were determined through a collaborative and systematic process known as joint judgement, carried out by the research team consisting of four researchers. This approach aimed to ensure consistency, minimize individual biases, and accurately reflect the relevance of each category in relation to the specific SDG 11 targets. An outline of steps for the joint judgement process follows: 

  1. Definition of Criteria: Before assigning values, the team established clear criteria to evaluate each category, including: 
    1. Direct Impact: How directly does the category contribute to the SDG target? 
    2. Cross-cutting Relevance: How is the category connected to other dimensions of sustainable urban design? 
    3. Frequency of Mentions: How often was the category mentioned during the interviews? 
  2. Individual Discussion and Evaluation: Each researcher independently analyzed the data obtained from interviews, keyword analysis, and case studies. Based on their expertise and understanding of the data, they assigned preliminary values to the categories, following the defined criteria.
  3. Joint Sessions: During collaborative meetings, the preliminary values were shared and discussed. In these sessions: 
    1. Cases of significant discrepancies between individual scores were reviewed. 
    2. Each researcher justified their assigned values based on the data and established criteria. 
    3. Quantitative data (frequency of mentions) and qualitative interpretations were analyzed to refine the scores. 
    4. Ultimately, a consensus was reached on the final values, ensuring they represented a well-founded collective perspective.
  4. Validation: The assigned values were cross-checked against the results of mention analysis and thematic alignment to ensure consistency across different data sources. This step validated the values as representative of the relative impact of each category on the SDG 11 targets

Line 754 – 794 The analysis of Table 2 comprehensively covered all 12 factors. However, it did not examine the changes vertically, i.e. for each location. It is evident, for example, that Gran Via and Supermanzanas performed exceptionally well compared with the other locations. I appreciate that this is partly covered by Figure 8 but the text offers no discussion of this.

Authors’ reply: Absolutely true and very interesting comment. Although a thorough analysis of such aspects exceeds the limits of this article and is not fully in line with the goal of the use case analysis (for the scope of the article),  we have added some initial comments to this end (lines 902-912).

Line 901 “heath waves” 

Authors’ reply: Thanks for spotting - now solved. 

Page 24. 12-point checklist. I do not see any recognition of the impact of climate change in this checklist – higher temperatures, heavier rainfalls.

Authors’ reply: Thank you also for this comment; very useful. Even though it was already implicitly inside the description of the list, we added specific text related to it in lines 945 to 954 and 970-976.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for your revisions and for addressing all the comments and suggestions provided during the review process. 

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I appreciate the authors' careful revision and responses to my last suggestions.

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