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The purpose of this paper is to present how my positionality as a researcher aligned with the works of Latour in terms of methodological inspirations and allowed me to develop a critical vantage point and simultaneously adopt a heterogeneously rather than hierarchically informed approach to ordering the world, which I argue serves as a basis for a more inclusive study of management systems.

I reflect on my own positionality as a researcher and share how my interpretation of Latour's ontology through some of his ideas and concepts, particularly symmetry, power, translation and agency, allowed me to incorporate and organize heterogeneous actors depicted in different empirical materials into space-time contexts and subsequently theorize organizing and management practices as agential, multiple and becoming.

A base in Latour’s ontology has equipped me with openness towards empirical settings, which I argue retains a democratic approach to theorization, i.e. theorization, which remains mindful of inadvertent assumptions about power, hierarchy or the taken for granted. This approach has also given me a form of personal resilience as a researcher.

The originality of this paper lies in presenting and developing the concept of method as democratizing. I argue that Latour’s approach to the empirical allows for at least two forms of active democratizing, one relating to the researcher as self and the other in how it incorporates the empirical actors into research, making possible the inclusivity of heterogeneity in analyses of organizations and organizing.

This study aims to draw a general framework for recreating water-related urban places. It discusses design criteria and processes that will strengthen people's and the city's relationship with the waterfront. It also explores the functional requirements of a participatory process to incorporate social and functional relations into place making.

The study is based on a comprehensive case study of the Kabataş project process. Data collection methods include archive searches, questionnaires, interviews and analysis. The study analyses the architectural decisions, the role and perspectives of the key actors and the current dynamics that shape the process. It points out shortcomings and needs of communication and collaboration with different stakeholders, especially with the users.

The results show that political and power dynamics play an important role in shaping the process. Non-transparent processes increase the gap between the aspects of community and decision makers in current practices. Establishing holistic, waterfront-specific and collaborative approaches is a necessity. The results also show that the success of participation depends on procedural dynamics such as scope, method, timing, representativeness of the community, institutionalisation level, transparency and deliberation.

Despite the intense interest in waterfront regeneration, few studies have focused on the potential of the participatory process. The study examines the intersections of waterfront design decisions and collaborative participation at various scales and emphasises the importance of local actors in the social production of space.