Overview

UT 210 | Listening: Design Ethnography Methods trains students to observe, interpret, and design across three interlinked scales: peoplescape (individual interviews), servicescape (contextual interviews), and cityscape (multi-scale interviews). From photo diaries and interviews to service documentaries and urban exposome mapping, each week builds methodological depth and reflective awareness. The course situates ethnography not as passive observation but as an active design practice that connects empathy, evidence, and systems thinking, preparing students to design for complex challenges, inclusion, and resilience in complex urban environments.

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Learning objectives

1. Develop proficiency in interview-based research (approximately 70%) as a core foundational skill that supports future studios and professional practice.

2. Understand foundational theories, frameworks, and methodologies of design ethnography across three scales—peoplescape, servicescape, and cityscape.

3. Apply design ethnography methods through collaborative, field-based projects.

4. Develop and articulate personal and professional identities within the emerging field of Urban Technology.

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Peoplescape

• W1 [ link ] Listening and Observing: Introduction to Design Ethnography

• W2 [ link ] Designing with Care: Research Ethics and Planning

• W3 [ link ] Seeing with Empathy: Observation and Photo Diaries

• W4 [ link ] Listening in Context: Interviewing and Fieldwork

• W5 [ link ] Making Sense of Stories: Fieldnotes and Insight Analysis

• W6 [ link ] Learning from the Field: Reflexivity and Practice

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Servicescape

• W7 [ link ] Translating Empathy: Design Documentaries

• W8 [ link ] Mapping Meaning: Service Systems and Grounded Theory

• W9 [ link ] Connecting the Dots: Synthesizing Service Insights

• W10 [ link ] Applying Ethnography: Sankey Diagrams and Service Design in Practice

• W11 [ link ] Sensing the City: Positionality, Urban Exposome, and the Soft City

• W12 [ link ] Designing with Time: Photogrammetry and Slow Observation

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Cityscape

• W13 [ link ] Learning from Places: Autoethnography

• W14 [ link ] Speculating Futures: Design Ethnography and Urban Technology

 

Peoplescape + Servicescape + Cityscape

• W15 [ link ] Integrating Scales: Final Presentations and Reflection

 

Acknowledgment
The lecturer gratefully acknowledges Prof. Robert Goodspeed, Bryan Boyer, Dr. Chanel Beebe, and Prof. Graham M Jones for their valuable guidance and contributions in shaping this syllabus and enhancing the course’s immersive learning experience. This course webpage is inspired by Prof. Shannon Mattern’s Design Ethnography Workshop 2021.