DESIGNING FREEDOM WITHIN XIAOQU

3 Communication Protocols for 3 Community Relations

YIXIN CHEN

Within a modern Chinese residential community known as Xiaoqu (小区 xiǎo qū), how do existing communication protocols fail to align with the members’ preferred levels and forms of freedom interacting with others? Moreover, how can new communication protocols among members of Xiaoqu be implemented to balance individual desires with collective community needs? 

The research project examines interactions in a typical Chinese residential community (“Xiaoqu”) focusing on trust and mutual respect versus mistrust and instrumentalization in social and political relationships. It categorizes these into three relations: political, social, and social-political, proposing speculative design interventions for each.

Political relations between residents and community managers are often strained, with residents expecting managers to handle administrative tasks and managers viewing residents as sources of complaints. Communication is typically one-sided, favoring the managers’ interests. To address this, the “Community Happiness Meter” protocol is suggested, enabling residents to provide feedback via their intercoms, allowing managers to quickly assess and respond to community satisfaction levels.

Social relations ideally involve trust and mutual respect, facilitating spontaneous neighborly support. However, personal boundaries today often limit interactions to superficial exchanges. The “Social Bell” protocol would encourage more meaningful interactions by allowing residents to signal their willingness to engage through a simple doorbell light or intercom status update.

Social-political tensions might emerge from shared spaces or amenities, potentially escalating into disputes. The “Neighbor Jury” protocol proposes a community-based resolution approach where residents can anonymously vote on disputes, promoting transparency and collective learning.

These interventions speculate that technology can help balance individual and collective interests, and foster more desirable communication and cooperation among members of Xiaoqu and beyond.

YIXIN CHEN

Overdosing in the interdisciplinary freedom of design, Yixin is passionate about researching interesting structures and dynamics of various human organizations. She wonders how we can design for the desirable levels and forms of freedom within the organization so both the individuals and their collective can flourish.

ychen169@sva.edu