Counterfactual scripting: acknowledging the past as a resource for PD

Abstract

This paper discusses counterfactual scripting as a framework to critically inquire and give form to design decisions in Participatory Design (PD) processes. The stories of what has happened in a design process are often told in a clear storyline that develops logically via different design moves towards a well-defined plot. Counterfactual scripting is a rejection of this teleological perspective. Inspired by counterfactual history, counterfactual scripting gives form to the PD process via the creation of plausible alternatives for the past and speculations about the future. In this way, the (materialised) counterfactual script facilitates in the perception of a more pluralistic view of past and future. In this paper we form the basis for a framework of counterfactual scripting by connecting theory on decision-making in PD with theory on counterfactual thinking in history and design. This framework is applied and evaluated in a case study in participatory spatial planning.