A public engagement and participatory research effort to understand the public’s priorities for urban development in Phnom Penh
of public engagement
people provided input through the kiosk
Creative urban research & citizen engagement
Koh Norea is a rapidly developing area in Phnom Penh. To involve the public in the urban planning process, SMMR and Build4People tapped Impact Hub Phnom Penh to establish a pop-up kiosk in Koh Norea to solicit the public’s perspectives.
Rather than a traditional survey, we designed a creative data collection approach and community engagement experience. The result was remarkably high engagement — over 1,000 passerby participated in just a week! The pop-up kiosk demonstrated the potential of expanding citizen participation activities into Cambodia’s planning processes. Not only that, but through the kiosk, we captured fascinating insights into what the public — particularly young people — prioritize in urban development.
Our approach
A people-first experience
We intentionally designed interactive and tactile activities that actively engaged visitors as they proceeded through the kiosk. These activities allowed us to collect important qualitative and quantitative data but, from the participant’s experience, were fun!
Visually attractive & accessible
We brought our youthful energy to the design of visual materials. We used images, simple language, and design elements to improve the accessibility of the content to visitors of all ages and with different levels of literacy.
Tapping young talents
We collaborated with urban planning students from 3 local universities: training them then coaching them (and building their confidence!) as they engaged the public at the kiosk alongside our team.
Snapshots
Dive into our findings
We produced a key findings brief to share trends in the data we collected from the public through the kiosk. These data provide actionable insights on the public’s priorities for urban livability that can inform demand-driven development of Koh Norea and other areas of Phnom Penh. We presented these findings to relevant public and private sector stakeholders, including corporate developers of Koh Norea.
Our Partners
