Abstract:
This study discusses the establishment and pilot of a collaborative data library
(CDL) for educational purposes, based on a transdisciplinary collaboration between the
architecture departments at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, and
University of Pretoria, South Africa. The CDL was tested Hammarkullen in Gothenburg in a
joint exercise during which students from both institutions collected qualitative and
quantitative data through site analysis using analogue and digital tools such as KoboToolbox
and Maptionnaire. The collected data were uploaded in guided sessions to the web-based
platform GeoNode to be stored in a systematic way for re-use of the data later in the course.
Results show that the tools and CDL were relatively easy to use. For the students the most
interesting aspects were the contextual information gained by using the data collecting tools,
and, by that, make communities' needs heard. Thus, the students appreciated the participatory
features of the data collection tools. The CDL will be further developed and tested in the South
African design studio in the Mamelodi township of Pretoria early in 2020. The development of
the CDL in a transdisciplinary and global context will allow for up-scaling and potentially also
applications outside educational environments. The project contributes to the United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 11.
