Participatory Apps for Urban Planning—Space for Improvement

Abstract

Participatory urban planning is considered an important aspect of developing local democracy. Recently, the use of mobile technologies to engage with citizens has gained interest among researchers, policy-makers, and activists. The purpose of this article is to introduce a typology that identifies types of mobile applications (apps) supporting citizen participation in urban planning. The presented typology is developed based on theories of participation and has three dimensions: type of data collected, information flow, and empowerment of citizens. Overall, the typology identifies eight types of participatory apps. Participatory apps in use around the world are then plotted into the typology and their contribution is analyzed with reference to the dimensions of the typology. Apps evolve from sharing information on the surrounding environment towards a dialogue aimed to accommodate citizen knowledge into the planning process. The article concludes that the impact of planning apps has yet been modest, but is expected to increase, and discusses ways in which planning apps can leverage citizens' knowledge in the future.

Keywords::

• citizen participation
• smartphone applications
• mobile participation
• urban planning

Acknowledgements

This research has been funded by a research grant the author received from the City of Turku, Finland, as part of Turku Urban Research Programme. The author would like to thank her supervisors Sampo Ruoppila and Vili Lehdonvirta for their comments and guidance, as well as all the colleagues in conferences and workshops who provided valuable feedback on draft versions of this article. The author would like to thank also the anonymous reviewer for her/his constructive comments that greatly contributed to improving the article. The author is grateful for the language assistance provided by the University of Turku.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

^1. Web-resources for the apps mentioned: Baltimore https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/visit-baltimore-maryland-for/id423388373?mt = 8; BikeCityGuide http://www.appsforamsterdam.nl/; BlindSquare http://blindsquare.com/; Bulky Basics http://www.appsforamsterdam.nl/; CA Desert http://apps.usa.gov/ca-desert.shtml; Calgary https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/city-calgary-road-conditions/id482156663?mt = 8; Citizens Connect https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boston-citizens-connect/id330894558?mt = 8; Commonplace http://commonplace.is/; CycleTracks http://www.sfcta.org/modeling-and-travel-forecasting/cycletracks-iphone-and-android; Evzdrop https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/evzdrop/id560224104?mt = 8; Gothenburg AR City Guide https://itunes.apple.com/se/app/cityguide-goteborg/id403215626?mt = 8; iSPEX https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ispex/id584360175?mt = 8; Local Data http://localdata.com/about.html; MapMyRide https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id = com.mapmyride.android2&hl = en; Master Plan 2008 Singapore https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/master-plan-2008-singapore/id571242365?mt = 8; MetroPulse https://itunes.apple.com/sn/app/metropulse/id440768203?mt = 8; MyColumbus https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/columbus/id444745167?mt = 8; NextDoor https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nextdoor/id640360962?mt = 8; Park-Shark https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/park-shark-amsterdam/id510032256?l = nl&ls = 1&mt = 8; Philly WatchDog https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/philly-watchdog/id428024273?mt = 8; PlanningVIC https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/property-planning-report/id416457935?mt = 8; Rio de Janeiro https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rio-de-janeiro-travel-guide/id350555387?mt = 8; re:route http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-05/08/re-route and https://www.recyclebank.com/faq/index/category/url/reroute-uk?___store = uk&___from_store = us; San Diego Street Report https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sd-street-report/id518218814?mt = 8; SeeClickFix http://seeclickfix.com/; SFPark https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sfpark/id426208076?mt = 8; S.O.S. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id = com.sharecare.sos&hl = en; Street Bump https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/street-bump/id528964742?mt = 8; SubwayTime https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mta-subway-time/id561507659?mt = 8; Survive: SD https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/survive-san-diego/id516776036?mt = 8; TaxiMagic https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/taxi-magic/id299226386?mt = 8; Tuscany https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/tuscany/id365739194?mt = 8; Textizen https://www.textizen.com/welcome; VTT http://www.vtt.fi/news/2012/04112012_VTT_tuo_laajennetun_todellisuuden_yhdyskunta_ja_rakennussuunnitteluun.jsp?lang = en; WideNoise https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/widenoise/id302052132?mt = 8; Zoner https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id = com.masr.zoner&hl = en