Design for the Public Usage of Rural Surplus Space (PURSS): The case study of DEISGN harvests

Abstract

One of the consequences of the regional urbanization in the Yangtze River Delta is that the mass transferring of surplus labor power from the rural area to the urban area, which resulted directly in a large amount of surplus space in the locality. A possible solution to this problem could be transforming the rural surplus space for public use (PURSS) through redesigning the system in a creative way. DESIGN Harvests, a pilot design-driven innovation and entrepreneurship project, is one of the first systemic attempts from China's design society. Based on the analysis of the needs and insights on PURSS, the paper explores the strategies, patterns and product service system design of PURSS, which provides a new scenario of reusing the spare and scattered resources in the countryside. The service based rather than construction based solution conforms to the principle of sustainability as a social process towards the restorative economy. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.