Public Participation Using 3D Web-Based City Models: Opportunities for E-Participation in Kisumu, Kenya

Public participation is significant for the success of any urban planning project. However, most members of the general public are not planning professionals and may not understand the technical details of a 2D paper-based plan, which might hamper their participation. One way to expand the participation of citizens is to present plans in well-designed, user-friendly and interactive platforms that allow participation regardless of the technical skills of the participants. This paper investigates the impacts of the combined use of 3D visualization and e-participation on public participation in Kisumu, Kenya. A 3D city model, created with CityEngine2016, was exported into a web-based geoportal and used as a Planning Support System in two stakeholder workshops in order to evaluate its usability. In order to assess the workshops 300 questionnaires were given out to planning practitioners and interview were done with key informants. Five indicators were developed for evaluating the usability of the 3D model while the usability of e-participation was evaluated using communication, collaboration and learning as indicators. Results showed that effectiveness and efficiency varied within different professional groups while the questionnaires showed strong preference for e-participation methods, especially Short Message Servicess/Unstructured Supplementary Service Data and emails. The study concludes that the use of 3D visualization and e-participation has the potential to improve the quality and quantity of public participation and recommends further research on the subject

Web-based PPGIS application for participatory spatial planning in context of bikeability

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial TechnologiesThe spatial planning processes are complex and require public participation to get insights about important problems and development of the neighborhood from the communities during final decision-making. The traditional participatory methods offer limited two-way communication just inform the public rather than to obtain suggestions from them and few public can participate due to time & location restrictions. Due to low public empowerment, they do not know how their participation can influence the spatial planning and decision-making process. This study tries to design and develop the web-based Public Participation GIS application with the integration of the internet, public participation, and GIS technologies to increase public participation during spatial planning and decision-making to overcome the limitations of traditional participatory methods. The web-based PPGIS application development is based on open-source technologies and allows the participants to visualize spatial data layer, perform spatial analyses and contribute to increasing and improving the bikeability of the city. The user study experiment is conducted to evaluate the usability and usefulness of the application. The evaluation results show that the web-based PPGIS application is easy to use with a System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 84.6 and an effective approach to increase public engagement and give suggestions on the spatial planning process and decision making

PPGIS and Public meetings : an evaluation of public participation methods for urban planning

The primary purpose of this study is to compare and evaluate two public participation methods. The two methods are public meetings and Public participatory GIS (PPGIS). Public meetings are an established public participation method for urban planning in Sweden. The thesis aims to test the hypothesis if PPGIS is more effective as a public participation method. The thesis first evaluated the two methods with the help of a framework for evaluating participation methods. The framework defined what effective participation methods were. An effective public participation method was assumed to gather high volumes of data for planners to use and be representative of the respondents. Other key factors for efficiency were cost-effectiveness, independence of respondents and influence of comments on decisions-making. A GIS-analysis to demonstrate the possibilities of a PPGIS was also conducted. Data for this study were gathered with the help of City of Helsingborg. The results suggest that the hypothesis could not be rejected. It was concluded that PPGIS is a more effective participation method, however a combination of both methods would further benefit the public participation.Den här studiens primära syfte är att jämföra och utvärdera två medborgardialogs metoder. De två metoderna är samrådsmöten och Public participatiory GIS (PPGIS). Samrådsmöten är en etablerad metod inom medborgardialog för samhällsplanering i Sverige. Uppsatser syftar till att pröva hypotesen om PPGIS är en effektivare metods för medborgardialog. Uppsatsen utvärderade först de två metoderna med hjälp av ett ramverk för utvärdering av medborgardialogs metoder. Ramverket definierade var effektiva medborgardialogs metoder var. En effektiv medborgardialogs metod antogs vara en metod som samlade stora mängder data från medborgarna samt vara en representativ metod för respondenterna. Andra viktiga faktorer för effektivitet var kostnadseffektivitet, självständighet för respondenter och dialogens inverkan på beslutsfattande. En GIS-analys för att visa på möjligheterna av ett PPGIS genomfördes också. Data för denna studien samlades in med hjälp från Helsingborgs stad. Resultaten visade att hypotesen kunde inte avböjas. Slutsatsen drogs att PPGIS är en mer effektiv medborgardialogs metod. Däremot, en kombination av båda metoderna kan ytterligare gagna medborgardialogen.Asking the public about their opinions in urban planning is a legal obligation for Swedish city council. This is referred to as public participation. The study tries to answer a questions whether public meetings, or map-based surveys (known as PPGIS) is the better participation method. City councils in Sweden are responsible for the planning of their city. In the process, they are also required to consult the public regarding the plans. Apart from the legal obligations, consulting the public may benefit the planners. More perspectives and ideas can give the planners easier and better solutions for the problems. Traditionally, the most common public participation methods in Sweden are public meetings or workshops. But a new method, which is map-based surveys (PPGIS), can challenge the traditional methods. The study is based on a comparison between traditional methods and PPGIS. The comparison is based on several criteria forming a framework for evaluation participation methods. The methods involve also analyses on data gathered from PPGIS-surveys. The results indicated that PPGIS is a better method for public participation than public meetings. PPGIS scored higher on all but one criterion. Additionally, data gathered from PPGIS allows planners for new perspectives and gives better ground. This is a very interesting score which shows that PPGIS should be employed in more consultation processes in Sweden. It is important to remember that PPGIS should not replace public meetings. Instead, a combination of the two methods should be employed

Participation technologies: a framework for the development of an online interactive GIS application

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are generally implemented in a top-down manner and do not inherently support public participation. It is believed that when these GIS applications are supported with collaboration and decision-aid tools this gap can be reduced. This study explores the participatory tools and technologies that support spatial decision making. A step by step process is proposed to guide the selection of participation tools and technologies in different scenarios. An online application prototype is then developed with the tools suggested by the step by step process to support public participation in the Ames Urban Fringe Plan in Story County, Iowa. The application is evaluated for its effectiveness based on the survey feedback received from the participants and interview responses. Opportunities, challenges and future recommendations are presented

Gestão ambiental compartilhada utilizando uma ferramenta interativa webgis (AGATA) no bairro Cajuru, Curitiba/PR

Orientadora: Prof.ª M.Sc. Sandra Mara Pereira de QueirozCoorientadora: Prof.ª Drª. Patrícia CharvetDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Tecnologia, Programa de Mestrado Profissional em Meio Ambiente Urbano e Industrial, em parceria com o SENAI-PR e a Universität Stuttgart, Alemanha. Defesa : Curitiba, 29/10/2018Inclui referências: p.94-101Resumo: O inadequado controle político-administrativo no processo de expansão urbana, desenvolvimento urbano e consumo excessivo de nossos recursos naturais tem sido o maior complicador para manter o meio ambiente sustentável. Não obstante, a falta de informação das áreas mais suscetíveis a impactos ambientais, juntamente com o relativo desinteresse da sociedade em mudar esse contexto, contribuem também com esse cenário negativo. Entretanto, a divulgação de dados espaciais na WEB vem crescendo significativamente nos últimos anos, com o surgimento dos WEBGIS. Através da publicação de mapas na internet, alcança-se um dos maiores objetivos do SIG, que é a disseminação de informação espacial para a sociedade. Assim sendo, criou-se o AGATA (Análises Geoambientais em Ambiente e Tecnologia Avançados), ferramenta interativa na WEB (ambiente avançado), com auxílio de um SIG (tecnologia avançada). O AGATA ordenará dados geográficos da área de interesse (bairro Cajuru) e informações ambientais que alimentarão um banco de dados. Esses últimos serão acessados e visualizados por usuários consumidores que entrarão no portal, inserindo novas informações que irão contribuir através da participação pública para a gestão ambiental local e até prever conflitos ambientais. Estes conflitos seriam originados de aspectos mal geridos como: resíduos sólidos, emissão de efluentes, ruídos, dentre outros. É preciso a constante divulgação do AGATA para estimular a participação pública, possibilitando o acesso a mapas interativos que exibirão de forma gráfica a situação ambiental do bairro Cajuru. Assim, desenvolveu-se uma ferramenta com o intuito de contribuir com o diagnóstico, controle e melhoria do ambiente urbano. Essa gestão ambiental será motivada pela participação pública, otimizando a competência da sociedade em gerir o seu bairro. Palavras chave: Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG). Meio Ambiente. SIG para Participação Pública (PPGIS). Desenvolvimento de aplicações WEBGIS.Abstract: Inadequate administrative political control in the process of urban sprawl, urban development, and excessive consumption of our natural resources have been the major complicating factors to maintain a sustainable environment. However, the lack of information on the areas most susceptible to environmental impacts, together with the relative lack of interest of society in changing this context, also contribute to this negative scenario. However, the dissemination of spatial data on the WEB has grown significantly in recent years with the emergence of WEBGIS. Through the publication of maps on the Internet, one achieves one of the major objectives of GIS, which is the dissemination of spatial information to society. As such, AGATA (Geoenvironmental Analysis in Advanced Environment and Technology) was created: an interactive WEB tool (advanced environment), with the help of a GIS (advanced technology). AGATA will order geographic data of the area of interest (Cajuru neighborhood) and environmental information that will feed a database. The latter will be accessed and visualized by consumers who will enter the portal, insert new information that will contribute, through public participation, to local environmental management and even to predict environmental conflicts. These conflicts would originate from poorly managed aspects such as solid waste, wastewater emissions, noise among others. It is necessary the constant dissemination of AGATA to stimulate public participation, allowing access to interactive maps that will graphically display the environmental situation of Cajuru's neighborhood. Thus, a tool was developed with the purpose of contributing to the diagnosis, control and improvement of the urban environment. This environmental management will be motivated by public participation, optimizing the competence of society to manage its neighborhood. Key words: Geographic Information System (GIS). Environment. GIS for Public Participation (PPGIS). Development of WEBGIS applications