This paper describes the conception, development and deployment of a novel HCI system for public participation and decisionmaking. This system was applied for the process of allocating refugee accommodation in the City of Hamburg within the FindingPlaces project (FP) in 2016. The CityScope (CS) -a rapid prototyping platform for urban planning and decision-making -offered a technical solution which was complemented by a workshop process to facilitate effective interaction of multiple participants and stakeholder groups. This paper presents the origins of CS and the evolution of the tangible user interface approach to urban planning and public participation. It further outlines technical features of the system, including custom hardware and software in use, utilization in real-time as well as technical constraints and limitations. Special focus is on the adaptation of the CS technology to the specific demands of Hamburg´s FP project, whose procedures, processes, and results are reflected. The final section analyzes success factors as well as shortcomings of the approach, and indicates further R&D as well as application scenarios for the CS.
Severe challenges such as depletion of natural resources, natural catastrophes, extreme weather conditions, or overpopulation require intelligent solutions especially in architecture. Built environments that are conceived from smart materials based on actuator and sensor functionality provide a promising approach in order to address this demand. The present paper reviews smart materials-based technologies which are currently applied or developed for application in civil structures, focusing on smart material applications for actuation or sensing. After giving a definition and categorization of smart materials, applications of the investigated materials (i.e. shape memory materials, electro- and magnetostrictive materials, piezoelectric materials, ionic polymer-metal composites, dielectrical elastomers, polyelectrolyte gels as well as magneto- and electrorheological fluids) are presented for the fields of architecture and civil engineering. While some materials are already highly advantageous in the application context, others still need further research in order to become applicable in real-world constructions. Nonetheless this review indicates their large innovation potential which should be consolidated by systematic research efforts in the near future.
Urban development that strives to meet democratic ideals and the needs of all stakeholders must incorporate public participation. Contemporary participation processes may employ digital tools that open new possibilities regarding the range of participants and the intensity of participation. In particular, they can uniquely allow for large and diverse groups of participants to be involved in collaborative design processes. Evaluating such processes is important because it allows for the justification of the necessary costs and efforts, as well as continuous improvement. Using the phases specified in the minimal viable process of the U_CODE project as an example, this paper aims at describing criteria for the evaluation of participation processes and propose several possible methods for their assessment. While the majority of these criteria resemble criteria traditionally used to assess public participation in general, this paper proposes an additional criterion, as well as ways of applying all of the criteria to digital participation methods. In addition, the criteria and methods described in this paper not only may be used for evaluative purposes during or after a digital participation process but may also be useful guidelines during the planning stages of participation processes. Hence, it may help to consider these criteria to assess the value of the process during its inception stage to avoid mistakes and to enhance the democratic value of the participation process.
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