Citizen Engagement in Practice - Informing Digital Futures: Strategies for Citizen Engagement - page 62

the artist's sketches to provide 'before and after' scenarios. The tools en-
abled participants to visualize aspects of the community easily, helped to
generate new requirements, and to evaluate and build consensus about so-
lutions. In a final development, photo-manipulation was used to create rea-
listic visualizations of new ideas for the neighborhood which had been
developed and explored using the other tools.
While the technology at the time was more limited than current visuali-
zation software, this case study is an example of how technology can assist
people to envision their future environment. The technology was used to
augment participants' imagination and local knowledge to help them to de-
fine their needs, identify solutions to problems and in such ways shape des-
irable digital futures. This technology-enabled engagement represented a
considerable departure from the established ways of doing things. Tradi-
tionally, planners and architects have built models, which they follow up
with presentation to an audience. The GIS capability made it possible for
community residents to be invited not just to give their responses to pro-
posals presented to them, but to offer their own suggestions for redevel-
opment throughout the planning process. As an example of a specific design
benefit arising from the contributions of residents, discussion and visuali-
zation had revealed that existing sidewalks (pavements) were totally
inadequate for pedestrian use, and that the elderly and disabled had par-
ticular problems moving around the neighbourhood. As a result, sidewalks
became a priority in the redevelopment proposals. Another example re-
lated to the proposed landscaping. When the artist drew in large trees lin-
ing the main highway, one resident pointed out that the underlying sewer
system was a vaulted structure which would not be able to support the
trees. Shrubs and small plants were therefore substituted.
The exercise was successful in promoting participative engagement by
the community. The findings of the study confirm conclusions by other au-
thors about public participation and the evolving role of the planner as an
“ enabler ” or “ facilitator ”, rather than simply as a “ provider ” of services
(Al-Kodmany 1999).
4.4 Citizen Engagement in Aspects of ICT Design
The seven examples of citizen participation/engagement presented in 4.3,
are illustrative of the varied ways in which people are involved and en-
gaged in informing decision-making and policy. In the examples reported,
while ICT has been important as an enabler, the focus of attention has
not been explicitly on the design of ICT. For this next section we sought