Approaching an Ideal: Using Technology to Apply Collaborative Rationality to Urban Planning Processes

Abstract

The paper examines web-based three-dimensional immersive technologies in the context of collaborative rationality combining Habermas' ideal speech conditions with insights from Dewey and complexity science to form the approach: diversity, interdependence, authentic dialogue. This provides a theoretical basis for examining the role of advanced web-based technologies in the collaborative planning process. The open neighbourhood approach and the program Second Life were employed to introduce immersive technology in a planning process by a Tufts University team working in collaboration with officials in the Town of Acton. The findings suggest that, designed correctly, web-based three-dimensional tools can foster collaboration and facilitate negotiated agreements.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the critical role that the following colleagues played in supporting this research: Ann Sussman, Roland Bartl, Kristin Alexander, Eric Gordon, and Penn Loh. The author is also particularly grateful for the work of his students who participated in the project: Amanda Garfield, Yun Luo, Nina Birger, Kate Seldon, Andy Likuski, Becky Gallagher, Michelle Moon, and Pete Kane. This research would not have been possible without the financial assistance of the Town of Acton (Massachusetts).

Notes

1. For the one example that Innes and Booher (2010) held up as closest to the ideal of collaborative rationality, the estimated cost was $10 million.

2. Roland Bartl, Planning Director and Kristin Alexander, Assistant Town Planner for Acton, Massachusetts, USA.

3. Ann Sussman.

4. Second Life is a multi-user 3D virtual environment with an online population of 18 million that combines game-like qualities inside an open world where the users build the landscapes, the buildings, all environmental objects and control the appearance of their in-world avatar (Hollander & Thomas, 2009).

5. Massively Multiplayer Online Games allow tens of thousands of players, connected through the Internet, to interact within a 3D virtual space.