The Tools of the Trade: Cultures, Devices, and Valuation Practices in Urban Design

Abstract

This article interrogates how the practice of design is shaped by the devices designers use and the cultures in which they work. Specifically, it studies a case of urban design in Gothenburg, Sweden, and explores how cultures and devices are intertwined when architects and urban planners make judgments about quality and value. This approach is adopted from the interdisciplinary field of valuation studies. The article argues that this valuation studies-inspired approach holds the prospect of transcending the divide between culturalist and materialist approaches to studying design practices. As such, the argument extends previous work on valuation practices in design processes, showing how the intertwining of culture and matter plays out in a situated context of designing. Specifically, the article develops three propositions: The valuation studies-inspired approach complements previous accounts of how power is exercised and how compromises are negotiated in design processes that feature different stakeholders. Moreover, this approach may serve as a framework for comparative studies of different design cultures.