Applying a Decolonized Approach as the Foundation to Creating Accessible Smart City Design

This brief explores how colonization shows up in design processes and how using decolonized approaches can create space for meaningful Indigenous inclusion and move toward a more equitable approach that benefits the meaningful inclusion of all groups. We explore the definitions of colonization and decolonization to encourage readers to think about how colonization currently shows up in their processes.

We also explore two specific examples of decolonized and Indigenized approaches and how they can be used in the design process to impact communities. Acknowledging that ‘one-size fits all’ will not work for all cities across Canada, we hope that readers will use this brief to consider their approaches to designing processes and how a shift in mind frames to notice colonial practices and intentionally engage in decolonized approaches can change systems.