Mapping subjectivities through interviews: A design workshop in a Japanese provincial town

Abstract

Workshops have become a common practice in the academic world of architecture and in participatory community building. During the workshop implementation, interviews to local residents is one of the fundamental phases. This paper develops a mapping technique to visualize the results of a series of individual structured interviews , taking as study case a workshop realized in a Japanese provincial town (Ichikawamisato) with the aim of revitalizing its urban core. The paper makes a detailed description of the research method and the visualization technique. It also includes a discussion about the generalization of the kind of qualitative research conducted in this study through the concepts of analytic generalization and case-to-case transferability of knowledge .