Citizens' expectations of information cities: implications for urban planning and design

Abstract

The European Union has made the development of a vibrant knowledge-based economy a key policy objective, and increasingly national and local governments worldwide are seeking to harness information and communication technologies to provide government services more effectively and for the benefit of their citizenry. The paper reports on the first phase of the ongoing European Union IntelCities integrated project that seeks to integrate electronic governance of cities and urban planning. The background to the project in terms of the e-Europe Action Plan is explored and the outcome of surveys of user needs and requirements carried out in the cities of Marseilles (France), Siena and Rome (Italy), Helsinki (Finland), Leicester and Manchester (UK), and Dresden and Berlin (Germany) are explained. The outcomes identify a range of implications for digital or electronic planning in terms of increasing the efficiency in e-urban planning and the need to develop digital methodologies for widening public participation. Thus, the importance of e-skills development in new forms of e-planning for planners, developers and citizens is highlighted and shown to be important for achieving a wider e-enabled sustainable knowledge society.Parmi les objectifs politiques majeurs que s'est fixée l'Union Européenne, figure le développement d'une économie dynamique basée sur la connaissance; de plus en plus, dans le monde entier, des gouvernements, au niveau national ou local, cherchent à maîtriser les technologies de l'information et de la communication pour fournir leurs services avec davantage d'efficacité et pour le bénéfice de leurs citoyens. Cet article rend compte de la première phase du projet intégré IntelCities que mène l'Union Européenne et dont l'objectif est d'intégrer l'électronique dans la gouvernance des villes et dans l'urbanisme. L'auteur rappelle l'historique de ce projet dans le cadre du Plan d'action eEurope et commente les résultats des enquêtes sur les besoins et les exigences des utilisateurs, qui ont été menées à Marseille (France), Sienne et Rome (Italie), Helsinki (Finlande), Leicester et Manchester (UK) ainsi qu'à Dresde et Berlin (Allemagne). Ces résultats font apparaître un large éventail d'implications pour la planification numérique ou électronique en termes d'amélioration de l'efficacité de l'e-urbanisme et la nécessité de développer des méthodologies numériques pour élargir la participation du public. L'auteur met ainsi en lumière et démontre l'importance du développement des e-compétences dans les nouvelles formes de e-planning pour les planificateurs, les promoteurs et les citoyens dans la perspective d'une société du savoir basée sur les technologies numériques

Integrating Decision-Making Support in Geocollaboration Tools

“…The work developed by Capata, Marella and Russo (Capata et al 2008) aims to support decision making during crisis situations, while Convertino et al (Convertino et al 2008) was focused on emergency planning. Curwell et al (Curwell et al 2005) aimed at supporting urban planning. These works however are more spatial-oriented than decision-oriented.…”

“…E-planning is the label adopted by a wide-ranging research agenda addressing the interaction between information technology and planning, including various key concerns such as territorial management, policy making, governance, citizenship and participation (Curwell et al 2005). Our mission was supporting a group of stakeholders (architects, urban designers, city planners, public administrators, and social and political scientists) collaboratively developing city plans.…”

Characterizing eParticipation

“…doi:10. /j.ijinfomgt.2007 of the various stakeholders' interest in participation and the development of the technological infrastructure have resulted in many new projects designed to exploit the potential of ICT that supports communication and participation in political processes (Bekkers, 2004;Best & Krueger, 2005;Curwell, Deakin, Cooper, & Paskaleva-Shapira, 2005).…”

Technology-aided participative methods in environmental assessment: An international perspective

“…The respondents from developing countries indicated that this is exacerbated where IT accessibility is limited and does not reach rural areas, minorities and lower social groups. These issues of accessibility have been extensively documented (Bauer, Berne, & Maitland, 2002;Niles & Hanson, 2003;Oden & Lentz, 2001;Simpson, Daws, & Pini, 2004) as have the opportunities, limitations and challenges encountered when using computer technology (Charlton, Gittings, Leng, Little, & Neilson, 1999;Curwell et al, 2005;Merrick, 2003;Shiffer, 1995). Accessibility issues are of particular relevance in developing countries (Brooks, Donovan, & Rumble, 2005).…”