Building Cape Town’s resilience qualities through design thinking

The document describes a partnership between the University of Cape Town’s d-school, GreenCape, and the City of Cape Town to introduce design thinking to youth. It focuses on a workshop for 180 Grade 6 learners from Wesfleur Primary School in Atlantis, using the challenge of saving water during a drought to teach human-centred problem solving. The study concludes that while young children can engage with the process, the approach is most effective for students in Grades 10-12.

• Design thinking is presented as a human-centred, empathetic approach that helps build resilience by embracing uncertainty and using experimentation and prototypes to create solutions responsive to community needs.
• A design thinking workshop was conducted on 18 August 2017 for 180 Grade 6 learners from Wesfleur Primary School in Atlantis, focusing on the theme of "saving water at home and school" to address the drought crisis.
• The Grade 6 students proposed several themes for water conservation interventions, including water catchment, purification, leak detection, the use of technology, penalties for waste, and the appointment of water ambassadors.
• Facilitators determined that while Grade 6 students were enthusiastic, the design thinking philosophy is best suited for a more mature youth cohort, specifically those in Grades 10 to 12.
• The document identifies that for design thinking to be effective with youth, it should focus on complex issues that have impacts that are easily understood and relatable.

APA

GreenCape (2019). Building Cape Town’s resilience qualities through design thinking. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Skills2_GreenCape_Resilience-Report_Interactive_20190806.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Building Cape Town’s resilience qualities through design thinking. 2019. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Skills2_GreenCape_Resilience-Report_Interactive_20190806.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Building Cape Town’s resilience qualities through design thinking |date=2019 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Skills2_GreenCape_Resilience-Report_Interactive_20190806.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2019building, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Building Cape Town’s resilience qualities through design thinking}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2019}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Skills2_GreenCape_Resilience-Report_Interactive_20190806.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }