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Oakville Divergent Thinking Case Study: Revitalizing Oakville Objective: This scenario presents a complex, multi-faceted problem that requires creative and varied solutions, making it ideal for showcasing your divergent thinking skills. Background Oakville is a mid-sized town with a population of 100,000. Once a thriving community with an optimistic/hopeful population and diverse economy, it has faced significant challenges in recent years: The closure of the town’s largest employer, a manufacturing plant, led to high unemployment rates. Young people are leaving for bigger cities, resulting in an aging population. The downtown area has numerous vacant storefronts and lacks vibrancy. The town’s infrastructure is aging and in need of upgrades. There’s a growing divide between long-time residents and newcomers over the town’s future direction. The mayor has assembled a task force of diverse community members, including you, to generate innovative ideas for revitalizing Oakville. Your group has been given the challenge of developing a comprehensive plan to address these issues and transform Oakville into a thriving, future-ready community. Your Task As a member of the task force, you are asked to apply divergent thinking principles to generate creative and varied solutions for Oakville’s revitalization. Your ideas should address multiple aspects of the town’s challenges and consider short-term and long-term impacts. Consider the following areas as you brainstorm: Environmental sustainability Community engagement and social cohesion Education and skill development Arts, culture, and recreation Infrastructure and urban planning Technology and innovation Economic development and job creation Remember to utilize the four key characteristics of divergent thinking: Fluency: Generate many ideas quickly Flexibility: Explore different categories and perspectives Originality: Develop unique and unconventional solutions Elaboration: Add detail and depth to your ideas Understanding Key Characteristics of Divergent Thinking Before you begin working on the Oakville revitalization project, let’s explore the four key characteristics of divergent thinking through relatable examples: 1. Fluency Imagine you’re tasked with coming up with new flavors for a local ice cream shop. You set a timer for 5 minutes and challenge yourself to list as many flavor ideas as possible. Without judging or filtering your ideas, you rapidly jot down flavors like: Lavender honey Spicy chocolate chili Buttered popcorn Green tea matcha Bacon maple …and so on, until you have 30 different flavor ideas when the timer goes off. This exercise demonstrates fluency – your ability to generate numerous ideas quickly. By producing a large quantity of ideas, you increase your chances of stumbling upon truly innovative and exciting ice cream flavors. 2. Flexibility You’re planning a community event to bring Oakville residents together. Instead of sticking to one type of event, you consider various categories: Cultural: A multicultural food festival Educational: A town-wide learning day with workshops led by local experts Sports: A community Olympics with quirky, inclusive games Environmental: A “green” fair showcasing eco-friendly practices Tech: A hackathon to solve local issues using technology By thinking flexibly across different categories, you’re more likely to find an event idea that resonates with diverse community members and addresses multiple town objectives. 3. Originality Your task is to design a new park bench for Oakville’s downtown area. While others might suggest standard designs with minor tweaks, you propose: A bench that doubles as a mini-greenhouse, with a clear canopy and planter boxes A musical bench that plays soft tunes when sat upon, using the weight of people as energy A “smart” bench with built-in WiFi, charging ports, and a small weather display These original ideas stand out because they’re unexpected and combine the concept of a bench with other functions or technologies in novel ways. 4. Elaboration You’ve suggested creating a community garden to address some of Oakville’s challenges. Instead of leaving it as a vague concept, you elaborate: “The ‘Oakville Unity Garden’ will be a 2-acre plot in the heart of downtown. It will feature: 50 individual plots for residents to grow their own produce A central educational area for workshops on sustainable gardening A rainwater collection system and solar-powered tool shed A weekly farmer’s market to sell excess produce Intergenerational mentoring programs pairing seniors with youth Themed sections showcasing plants from different cultures represented in Oakville” Questions to Consider How can Oakville leverage its existing resources and strengths in new and unexpected ways? What unconventional partnerships or collaborations could benefit the town? How might technology be integrated into traditional sectors to create new opportunities? What innovative approaches could bridge the gap between different community groups? How can the town’s challenges be reframed as unique opportunities? Deliverables/Assignment Individual Brainstorming: Generate at least 20 ideas for revitalizing Oakville, ensuring a mix of practical and highly innovative concepts. Initial Posting: Choose your top 3-5 ideas and elaborate on them, explaining how they demonstrate the characteristics of divergent thinking. T Peer Responses: Engage with your classmates’ ideas, building upon them or combining them with your own to create new solutions. Make sure you respond to at least three (3) classmates. Remember, there are no “wrong” answers in divergent thinking. The goal is to generate a wide range of creative possibilities before evaluating their feasibility.