Document Type
Presentation
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Participatory Design Conference 2026
Volume
1
Publisher
ACM
Location
Milan, Italy
Publication Date
6-15-2026
First Page
1
Last Page
11
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Abstract
This paper examines the first year of collaboration between the Bear River Region LGBTQ+ Community Coalition and queer residents in rural northern Utah, United States, using a hybrid participatory design (PD) approach. Using Yep’s queer relationality theory, we examine how hybrid spaces were designed and iteratively adapted to support inclusion, care, and collective agency among LGBTQ+ community members. Drawing on Community Coalition Action Theory and queer PD, we analyze four cases from May 2024 to June 2025 including workshops and regular meetings to explore how relational practices evolved across different formats and phases of coalition development. In this paper, we articulate how norms, facilitation, and planning were co-created by coalition members, shifting away from productivity-centered hybrid models toward participatory practices. We contribute to PD by advancing queer relationality as both a theoretical and practical framework for designing hybrid interactions that resist normative constraints and center the lived experiences of rural LGBTQ+ communities.
Recommended Citation
LuEttaMae Lawrence, Maureen Boyle, Chasity Mayo, Catherine A. Rushworth, Moira Anderson, Dorothy Wallis, and Jayme Walters. 2026. Queer, Hybrid Participatory Design: Relational Practices and Norms for Coalition Building with Rural, LGBTQ+ Communities. In Participatory Design Conference 2026, Vol. 1: Full Papers (PDC 2026 Vol. 1), June 15–19, 2026, Milan, Italy. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 11 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3796624.3796638
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