Digitalization, Participation and Interaction: Towards More Inclusive Tools in Urban Design—A Literature Review

Gustavo De Siqueira, Sadmira Malaj and Mayssa Hamdani
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Gustavo De Siqueira: Urban Planning and Architectural Design Department, German University of Technology in Oman, Muscat 130, Oman
Sadmira Malaj: Urban Planning and Architectural Design Department, German University of Technology in Oman, Muscat 130, Oman
Mayssa Hamdani: Computer Sciences Department, German University of Technology in Oman, Muscat 130, Oman

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: The 11th sustainable development goal highlights the importance of making our cities more inclusive. For that, planning processes should become more engaging and empower citizens to actively participate in designing their environments. However, the COVID-19 crisis exposed inequalities and posed challenges to communal activities due to restrictions on face-to-face activities. These constraints brought many researchers and practitioners to rethink the process of co-designing workshops, putting digitalization in the spotlight. The present study consists of a systematic literature review focusing on understanding how digital technologies affect participatory approaches in urban design and how they have evolved since the 1990s. Also, it investigates the correlation between levels of participation and interaction in different types of collaborative design workshops held in communities. We found that many authors have been developing new methodologies and digital tools aiming to digitalize the co-designing experience through mediation. However, there is no evolutionary evidence of tools in the field creating bridges between digitalization, participation, and interaction. We argue that a research agenda is required to produce more sophisticated tools to tackle social barriers and support inclusive design towards sustainable urban development patterns.

Keywords: collaborative design; digital tools; interactivity; participatory; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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