Stakeholder Research in Architecture and Urban Design: Assessing Emerging Methods for a Post- Pandemic World

Abstract

Architecture and urban design represent spatial conceptualizations at different, interlinked scales. Economic and social sustainability as part of the design concept requires user and community-based research to determine stakeholder habits and needs. One of the largest challenges in such research is collecting representative data, a challenge that was exacerbated by the lack of in-person research opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic forced research method adaptions for both qualitative and quantitative community-based research. Our paper examines these adaptations as examples of emerging methods more generally. We first summarize both analog and digital stakeholder-focused built-environment research over the past decade. Next, through a literature review, we focus on studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic to detail new methods and tools developed during this time. A special focus is on methods developed to access stakeholder groups often overlooked in built- environment research, such as low-income and other vulnerable populations.

We analyze emergent and newly developed methods to determine their applicability, benefits, and limitations for use in a post-pandemic world. In doing so, we contribute to developing methodologies and tools for built-environment stakeholder research where data has typically been harder to access.