Digital Citizen Participation – Involving Citizens Through Immersive Systems in Urban Planning

Citizen participation is a democratic practice that became, especially on a local level, an important mean for the public to be included in the development of their immediate surrounding. With the digitalization of work and social life also the digitalization of the public sector, including governmental action, began. This process, as a research discipline called digital government, includes addressing how the interaction between citizens and their state should be designed. A meaningful way to do so are digital platforms that enable participation in governmental action. Digital Citizen Participation, a concept introduced in this dissertation, tries to include recent technological innovations in e-Participation platform design. This dissertation argues that these innovations might help overcome general barriers in participation processes. When it comes to construction projects in urban environments for example, public debates and protests may arise if architectural plans remain unshared or are not sufficiently accessible for the citizens they might affect. To involve the public affected by urban planning, offering easily graspable visualizations for citizens is key. This dissertation deals with the participation of citizens in urban planning through an e-Participation platform that makes use of immersive technologies such as Augmented and Virtual Reality. In this work, this idea is investigated through a design science research approach that uses qualitative and quantitative methods. While the first qualitative study puts for-ward a set of meta-requirements and design principles based on interviews with 27 individuals, the second study (n=339) and third study (n=382) evaluate quantitatively a prototype based on those design principles. The used methods are adequately contex-tualized and, in the end, a final prototype of the platform is demonstrated. This allows to show findings concerning the forms and levels of participation citizens and initiators are interested in when using immersive systems for public participation, and how an ideal platform should be designed. Among many other findings, the studies show that citizens have a high interest in using immersive systems for public participation and find their qualities for visualization to be highly valuable

Digital Democracy : The Tools Transforming Political Engagement

This paper shares lessons from Nesta's research into some of the pioneering innovations in digital democracy which are taking place across Europe and beyond.Key findings:Digital democracy is a broad concept and not easy to define. The paper provides a granular approach to help encompass its various activities and methods (our 'typology of digital democracy').Many initiatives exist simply as an app, or web page, driven by what the technology can do, rather than by what the need is.Lessons from global case studies describe how digital tools are being used to engage communities in more meaningful political participation, and how they are improving the quality and legitimacy of decision-making.Digital democracy is still young. Projects must embed better methods for evaluation of their goals if the field is to grow

VR-participation: The feasibility of the virtual reality-driven multi-modal communication technology facilitating e-Participation

Successful communication between citizens and decision makers – eParticipation, despite progressing from dedicated solutions to modern, social media-based approaches has been facing many challenges. We argue that Virtual Reality technologies through its sense of presence and embodiment for discussion participants can help in alleviating some of the major obstacles hindering effective communication and collaboration. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to building AI models to support effective dialog implementation in VR. VR platforms potentially afford studies on user behavior without the overhead of complicated sensor infrastructure required for data collection. In particular, we propose machine-learning-based approach for predictive log analytics to identify behavioral patterns that support or obstruct effective collaboration in the context of structured dialog conversation. We discuss the applicability of the models to e-Participation and possible broader application of the models created. We also argue that VR-interaction-data-based models have the potentials to be transferable to managing and improving real-life interactions

Activating Energy Communities for Systemic Change

The speed of energy transition in the Netherlands is low, in contrast to its 2050 climate change target of net-zero emissions. The transition requires 7.5 million households with natural gas connections, to move to renewable energy sources. The main challenge is not technical, many viable options are already available, but social: people will need to be supported to decide and act. In this paper, we identify interventions that could activate change within energy communities, through 19 interviews conducted in March 2021 in Austerlitz, Zeist municipality, The Netherlands. Interview questions were guided by the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavioural (COM-B) change model. The model explains factors that affect people’s behaviour. Results indicate that renovation and energy transition are viewed as two separate processes. Austerlitz homeowners are waiting for the government to lead the energy transition process, while they continue to renovate their homes to improve comfort, aesthetics, safety, and convenience. Also, current interventions towards activating households are piecemeal and more focused on creating external opportunities (such as financial support), and barely address the psychological capabilities and motivation factors (belief, attitude, social norm, and perceived behavioural control). To boost psychological capabilities and motivation, we recommend interventions that enhance homeowners’ belief that the energy transition is part of their long-term home renovation plans, for their own benefit, to motivate them to drive the energy transition process. Interventions may include ‘show’ or ‘display’ houses where energy transition was combined with renovations and highlighting inspirational energy transition stories on the municipality website

Inter-Municipal Cooperation as a Tool of Resilience in Small Communities

The hypothesis of the paper is that the resilience of small communities can be engaged by inter-municipal cooperation. The economy of scale of public services is a great challenge for the small communities in Europe. The review of the international models will focus on the models based on the merge of the municipalities and on the models based on the engagement of inter-municipal cooperation. The literature on these reforms will be reviewed. Based on the hypothesis, the regulation on inter-municipal cooperation and service provision of the rural areas in Hungary in the last two decades will be shortly presented. As part of this research, empirical research was carried out in a Hungarian rural area, which has a strong inter-municipal cooperation. Similarly, empirical research has been carried out in a Slovenian rural area which is based on the merge of the small communities. The advantages and disadvantages of the inter-municipal model, and the model based on the merge of the communities were compared in the paper: efficient units of public services provision can be established not only by the merge of the communities but by the establishment of inter-municipal associations. Although decision-making is more complicated, the small communities could be more resilient based on this model, because the flexibility and the community building of the small municipal model prevail as well. The merge of the municipalities offers more efficient decision-making, but the resilience engaged by the grassroots service provision requires some administrative actions in this model

Co-designing cities: Designers as enablers of community-driven change by participatory means in the urban context

In the 21st century, design has expanded in scope and become applied as an approach to developing more human-centered and sustainable solutions, environments and strategies in the urban context, with multidisciplinary collaboration recognized as a precondition for addressing complex societal issues. Simultaneously, the progress of technology and emergence of social media have enabled citizens to become central actors, who collectively and proactively contribute to the development of cities through self-organized action. In the thesis, this transition is examined from the point of view of a designer, with the aim to explore and discover the potential roles that a designer might adopt to catalyze sustainable change in the urban context by means of co-design. With sustainability as the newly adopted, ultimate goal in all design activity, it is proposed that harnessing citizens as a resource in co-developing solutions and environments in cities by means of participation can induce broad positive impact that extends beyond improving the quality of design outcomes. The thesis topic is approached through two distinct sections: a theoretical study and a case study. A literature review and expert interviews are conducted to first establish a comprehensive understanding on three subject matters: design in contemporary society and cities; participation in design; and citizen participation in the urban context. In the case study, observations obtained through a fieldwork period in 2017-2018 on Konepaja are elaborated and analyzed. Located in a rapidly transforming industrial milieu in Vallila, Helsinki, Konepaja is a former train carriage workshop that operated for a century before the operations were shut down in 2003. In the recent years, the neglected site has become known for distinctive urban culture stemming from the grass root level. The community members of Konepaja are identified as key actors in developing the area through a bottom-up directed process, that can amplify the existing assets and potential of the site. The focus is on exploring how the shared future vision of Konepaja could potentially be achieved by means of co-design, and what roles a designer can adopt in the process. The aim is to propose how conditions might be established for the community to mobilize and sustain a bottom-up directed development process autonomously, and thus contribute to developing Konepaja into a socially sustainable and vibrant urban area. Through the study, it is discovered that high quality participation can induce various positive implications, with the most notable benefits being social. Enabling participation throughout the development process can lead to a transformation within individuals and communities themselves, including empowerment, increase in social capital, a stronger sense of community, and commitment to change. By approaching a development process with a participatory mindset, the process can become a platform for the community to assemble, collaborate, and mobilize to take concrete, collective action. Thus, by facilitating and enabling a participatory process, a designer can enable harnessing the community as an invaluable resource and a transformative force, potentially catalyzing broader positive change within the community, urban area and even in the city scale.2000-luvun yhteiskunnallisessa muutoksessa muotoilun kenttä on muuttunut ja laajentunut voimakkaasti. Yksi uusista sovelluskohteista on kaupungit, joissa muotoilun lähestymistapaa on alettu soveltamaan kestävien ja ihmislähtöisten ratkaisujen, ympäristöjen ja kauaskantoisten strategioiden suunnittelemiseksi, ja joissa monialainen yhteistyö on tunnistettu edellytykseksi monimutkaisten ongelmien ratkaisemiseksi. Samalla teknologian kehitys ja sosiaalinen media ovat mahdollistaneet kaupunkilaisten ja yhteisöjen aktivoitumisen keskeisinä toimijoina kaupunkien kehityksessä itseorganisoitumisen keinoin. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteina on tarkastella tätä muutosta muotoilijan näkökulmasta sekä tutkia niitä mahdollisia rooleja, joita muotoilija voi omaksua kaupunkiympäristöjen kehittämisessä yhteissuunnittelun menetelmiä hyödyntäen. Keskeisin muotoilun tehtävä nyky-yhteiskunnassa on edistää kestävää kehitystä ja suunnitella siten myös sosiaalisesti kestäviä ratkaisuja, minkä mahdollistamisessa yhteissuunnittelu sekä kaupunkilaisten osallistaminen ja valjastaminen muutosvoimana ovat avainasemassa. Muotoilijan rooli nähdään kaupunkilaisten osallistamisen ja kaupunkien kestävän yhteissuunnittelun mahdollistajana, sekä mahdollisena katalyyttina laajemmille vaikutuksille, joita osallistamisen keinoin voidaan saavuttaa. Opinnäytetyössä aihetta käsitellään teoreettisen tutkimuksen sekä tapausesimerkin kautta. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen ja ammattilaishaastattelujen keinoin luodaan ensin kokonaisvaltainen ymmärrys kolmesta eri aihealueesta: muotoilu nyky-yhteiskunnassa ja kaupunkikontekstissa, osallistaminen muotoilussa, sekä kaupunkilaisten osallistaminen kaupungeissa. Tapaustutkimuksessa tarkastellaan Konepajaa, Helsingin Vallilassa sijaitsevaa entistä Valtionrautateiden vaunukonepajaa, vuosien 2017-2018 aikana toteutetun kenttätutkimuksen avulla kerättyjä havaintoja analysoimalla. Alkuperäisen toiminnan päätyttyä vuonna 2003 pitkään tyhjillään olleisiin rakennuksiin on viime vuosina kehkeytynyt ruohonjuuritason toimintaa, jonka avulla alueelle on virinnyt uusia kaupunkikulttuuria ja omaleimaista paikkaidentiteettiä kehittäviä toimintoja ja väliaikaiskäyttöjä. Kenttätutkimuksessa Konepajan yhteisön jäsenet tunnistetaan merkittävinä toimijoina alueen tulevaisuuden käyttöjen ja kehitysprosessin suunnan määrittämisessä sekä sosiaalisesti kestävän, alhaalta ylöspäin suuntautuvan kehitysprosessin vetureina. Analyysiosiossa tarkastellaan, miten Konepajan tulevaisuuden kehitystä voisi lähestyä yhteissuunnittelun menetelmin ja miten muotoilija voisi osaamisellaan myötävaikuttaa alueen kestävään ja olemassa olevia vahvuuksia voimistavaan tulevaisuuskehitykseen. Pääpaino tarkastelussa on alueen toimijoiden roolissa muutosprosessin alullepanijoina ja ylläpitäjinä, joiden avulla Konepajasta voidaan kehittää yhteisiä tulevaisuusvisioita vastaava, elinvoimainen kaupunkikulttuurin keskus. Opinnäytetyön tutkimuksen kautta osoitetaan, että korkeatasoisella osallistamisella ja yhteissuunnittelulla voidaan synnyttää laajojakin kokonaisvaikutuksia sekä ympäristössä että yhteisöjen sisäisesti, joista huomattavimmat ovat sosiaalisia. Mahdollistamalla kaupunkilaisten korkeatasoisen ja jatkuvan osallistamisen koko kehitysprosessin ajan yhteisön jäsenet voidaan sitouttaa muutosprosesseihin voimaannuttamalla, yhteisöllisyyttä voidaan parantaa sekä yhteisön toimijoiden välisiä suhteita vahvistaa. Lähestymällä kehitysprosessia osallistavasta näkökulmasta yhteissuunnitteluprosessi voi toimia alustana yhteisön järjestäytymiselle, yhteistyölle ja konkreettisen toiminnan mobilisoinnille. Muotoilijan rooli yhteissuunnittelun fasilitoijana ja mahdollistajana voi johtaa yhteisön valjastamiseen resurssina ja muutosvoimana kaupungeissa. Tämä voi puolestaan mahdollistaa kestävän muutoksen ja kehityksen niin yhteisön sisäisesti, kaupunkiympäristössä kuin mahdollisesti myös koko kaupungin mittakaavassa

Designing Mobile Applications for Citizen Participation in Urban Planning

As a result of the increasing requirements for urban planning, a paradigm shift towards citizen participation has evolved to collaboratively address enhancing urban challenges and social conflicts. Past projects have examined urban citizen participation processes and methods to support citizen participation. However, the challenges in the domain of informing, encouraging, and enabling participation at any time are not sufficiently examined and less attention was devoted to urban participation through mobile applications, even if required devices are widely used and can enable permanent communication channels between citizens and planning authorities. Therefore, a design science research project was initiated to examine how to design mobile applications to support citizen participation in urban planning projects. In this paper, the findings of the first cycle are presented including issues, meta-requirements, design principles, the development of a mock-up, and its evaluation to provide insight into the design of mobile applications for citizen participation