Understanding the Implications of Technology-Enabled Urban Planning Participation for Practice

规划的历史是一个不断变化的优先事项和影响的故事，它不断地在其角色、意识形态立场和政治偏好方面进行改革。早期的规划方法是强硬的，无所不知的规划师将艺术和后来的科学应用于理解和解决城市问题。然而，这种结构不能适应公众对规划者决策越来越多的质疑，以及规划者对公民参与必要性的认识。然而，目前的参与方式对许多人来说是不合适和笨拙的。人们普遍认为，公民应该在塑造当地地区方面拥有更多的发言权，这是一个通过交流和合作规划理论在学术上发展了30多年的议程。然而，尽管加强规划参与形式的观点往往是一致的，但将这些原则转化为既定的政治和专业做法要困难得多。大多数规划参与方法是非数字的，往往反映出离线方法，尽管在过去十年中，人们普遍认识到，通过拥抱技术进行有意义的参与，更多的公民有机会参与规划系统。城市规划的数字系统位于人机交互(HCI)和公民参与的民主机会的界面上，依赖于与地点、政治和交流有关的问题。在我的博士研究中，我评估了可以在多大程度上设计和部署新的数字技术，以加强城市规划中的公民参与，并找到通过公民参与来克服一些挑战的方法。通过设计、部署和评估推测性数字技术，这项研究探索了技术在促进公民更多参与规划方面的作用。这项研究已经产生了影响。ChangeExplorer(这是我在攻读博士期间开发的一项技术)作为中央政府未来法定通知试点的一部分进行了实施和研究，以了解如何改进站点通知。描述该项目的一篇论文目前是《环境与规划B：城市分析与城市科学》中下载量第二大的论文(下载量超过8000次)。这项工作也在两个相互关联的地方Catapult的未来规划报告中得到了认可。第二项技术JigsAudio被Nesta注意到，并部署在该地区和国际上的一些有影响力的项目中。需要进一步工作，以巩固这项工作的重要概念发展，并加强我迄今工作的影响。这将通过四个交叉目标来实现：-以我在社会科学领域高质量出版物的记录为基础，通过出版物巩固我的博士研究：第一个目标是将我的研究案例研究中的概念论点汇集在一起；第二篇报道规划者在参与新技术时遇到的更广泛的问题。-利用我现有的实践规划专业人士网络，例如我与皇家城市规划研究所(RTPI)、城镇和乡村规划协会(TCPA)和其他专业组织的联系，通过与专业受众的有针对性的接触，开发产生影响的关键途径。-在国内和国际会议上传播结果，以增强我的博士研究的影响力，并扩大我的从业者和研究人员网络。-通过在奖学金结束时开发ESRC新研究员补助金的申请，巩固我向独立研究人员的过渡。

The history of planning is a story of changing priorities and influences, with it constantly undergoing reform in its role, ideological stance and political preferences. Early approaches to planning ruled with a heavy hand, with 'all-knowing planners' applying art, and later science, to understanding and solving urban problems. This structure, however, could not accommodate the increasing questioning by the public of planners' decisions and the recognition by planners of the need for citizen input.Current participation methods, however, are unsuitable and unwieldy for many people. It is widely accepted that citizens should have more say in shaping local areas, an agenda developed academically for over thirty years through communicative and collaborative planning theories. However, although the sentiments of enhanced planning participatory forms are often agreed upon, translation of the principles into established political and professional practices is much more difficult to achieve. The bulk of planning participation methods are non-digital and tend to mirror offline methods despite widespread recognition over the last ten years of the opportunities for more citizens to become engaged in the planning system by embracing technology for meaningful participation. Digital systems for urban planning sit at the interface of human computer interaction (HCI) and democratic opportunities for citizen engagement, resting on issues concerning place, politics and communication. In my doctoral research I assessed the degree to which new digital technologies can be designed and deployed to enhance citizen engagement within urban planning and identify ways to overcome some of the challenges with citizen engagement. Through designing, deploying and evaluating speculative digital technologies, the research explored the role of technology in facilitating enhanced citizen participation in planning. The research has already been impactful. ChangeExplorer (a technology developed during my PhD) was implemented and researched as part of central government's 'Future of Statutory Notices Pilot' to understand how site notices could be improved. A paper describing the project is currently the second most downloaded paper in Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science (with over eight-thousand downloads). The work was also recognised in two Connected Places Catapult 'Future of Planning' reports. A second technology, JigsAudio was noted by Nesta and deployed in a number of impactful projects across the region and internationally.Further work is needed to consolidate the vital conceptual development of this work, and to reinforce the impact of my work to date. This will be done through four intersecting aims: - Build on my track-record of high-quality publications in the social sciences to consolidate my doctoral research through publications: the first brings together the conceptual arguments across my research case studies; with the second reporting on the wider issues that planners experience with new technologies for engagement.- Using my current networks of practising planning professionals, such as my links to the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), and other professional organisations, develop key pathways to impact through targeted engagement with professional audiences.- Disseminate the results at national and international conferences to bolster the impact of my doctoral research and widen my practitioner and researcher networks.- Cement my transition towards an independent researcher by developing an application for ESRC's New Investigator Grant towards the end of the fellowship.