Permaculture designers and community organizers
Starting a community garden project that requires inclusive design with diverse stakeholders
Use cases
About
The Design for Social Permaculture and Soft Systems mind map template, created for land use planners, community designers, and permaculture practitioners, covers 33 nodes across 1 sheet exploring participatory design approaches. It contrasts 'hard systems' design with people-centered methods, introduces Pattern Language from Christopher Alexander, and references Appreciative Inquiry and Lean Design. Key nodes include 'GaSADIE', 'socioculture pattern language', and 'Gaia U Lean Project template'. This template serves as a cheat sheet for articulating design approaches in social permaculture contexts.
Terms and ConditionsWhen to use this template
Urban planners and landscape architects
Developing a new urban planning framework that balances ecological and social needs
Educators and facilitators in sustainability programs
Teaching a workshop on participatory design methods for social systems
How to use this template
Step 1
Launch and analyze core concepts
Open the template in Xmind to review the foundational branches covering hard systems, people-centered design, and Pattern Language.
Step 2
Explore resources and personalize nodes
Examine the detailed notes on GaSADIE and Lean Design before adding your own project-specific nodes for community planning.
Step 3
Export and share your design
Save your customized social permaculture map as an image or PDF to collaborate with your team and stakeholders.
Frequently asked questions
The template includes 33 nodes covering hard vs. soft systems, Pattern Language, Appreciative Inquiry, Lean Design, and resources like the Gaia U Lean Project template and Looby Macnamara's 'design web'.
Start by exploring the 'land use planning- hard systems' design' branch to understand conventional approaches, then move to 'working with people, and communities' for alternative methods like GaSADIE and Appreciative Inquiry.
Yes, the template is free to use and fully editable in Xmind. You can customize nodes, add your own examples, and link to external resources like the Gaia U Lean Project template.
It introduces Christopher Alexander's concept of democratizing design by creating understandable patterns that allow all people to critique and communicate about design environments.
Yes, the 'Lean Design' branch provides a canvas approach for rapid prototyping and early user feedback, with a link to The Lean Startup methodology.
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