References

Banathy, Bela H. (1997). Designing social systems for a changing world. New York: Plenum Publishing.

Iñiguez Flores, R., Morán, R. M. L. & Ruano, D. S. (2019). Mexi-futurism: The transitorial path between tradition and innovation. Strategic Design Research Journal, 12 (02), 222-234. DOI:10.4013/sdrj.2019.122.08

Manga, M & Hollenhorst, T. (2004). Evolutionary Leadership for Building Sustainable Organizations. Center for Evolutionary Leadership & ifPeople. https://www.academia.edu/download/32545745/EvoLeaderSusOrg.pdf

The evolving Mexican context disclosed by Tecnológico de Monterrey creates a significant opportunity for these ideas and conversations to take place in the participatory ecosystem afforded by RSD12.

Tecnológico de Monterrey initiated DistritoTec in 2012 in response to escalating urban decline and community safety in the area. An urban regeneration and innovation initiative, DistritoTec has developed from an ongoing collaboration between citizens, government, and non-governmental organisations. Today, DistritoTec is a Monterrey city improvement district recognised for blending urban regeneration and sustainability with citizen engagement and a high level of accessibility (Gaxiola-Beltrán et al., 2022). It is also a Global Network innovation district, and in 2022 Tech announced the construction of Expedition, an innovation and entrepreneurship building.

References

Gaxiola-Beltrán, A.L., Narezo-Balzaretti, J., Ramírez-Moreno, M.A., Pérez-Henríquez, B.L., Ramírez-Mendoza, R.A., Krajzewicz, D., Lozoya-Santos, J.d.J. (2021). Assessing Urban Accessibility in Monterrey, Mexico: A Transferable Approach to Evaluate Access to Main Destinations at the Metropolitan and Local Levels. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 7519. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/16/7519/pdf

Global Institute on Innovation Districts. (n.d.). The Ambition. https://www.giid.org/innovation-districts-ambition/

PROGRAMME

Tecnológico de Monterrey hosts one-and-a-half days of sessions exploring participatory ecosystems and the discovery of research and design approaches that apply systemic design to placemaking and social innovation in ecosystems.

Ecosystems are dynamic and complex creations, with systems and subsystems comprised of individuals and organisations, resources, networks, and institutions interconnected in the pursuit of social, economic, and environmental goals. Positive attributes of an ecosystem are collaboration, learning, and stakeholder participation, along with evidence of experimentation, co-creation, and iteration; however, ecosystems face challenges such as exclusivity, fragmentation, unmet needs, lack of resources for social innovation, inadequate policy or uncertain governance, and resistance to change.

At the heart of these systemic challenges, there is a central necessity for participation—engagement of public stakeholders in co-creating the emergence of collective well-being. Participatory ecosystems strive to optimise the potential for innovation while addressing challenges by prioritising emic approaches and engaging diverse stakeholders in decision-making processes, problem-solving, and implementation of solutions. Unsurprisingly, complexity abounds in ecosystems, encountering all of RSD12’s entanglements: technology, environment, policy and power, and foundational.