Setting up a public participation project using the Urban Mediator tool: a case of collaboration between designers and city planners

摘要

The Urban Mediator software is a web-based framework for sharing, obtaining and gathering location-based information. This paper presents an overview of the possibilities and limitations of this system for end-user development and co-design. The issues are analyzed through the case study of a public citizen participation project that used the software and was set up in collaboration between designers from the University of Art and Design Helsinki, and planners from the City of Helsinki Planning Department, during spring 2008. The collaborative work between the design team and the city planners, as well as the flexible and extensible features of the Urban Mediator, enabled the setting up of a successful small scale urban planning participative project as well as the further development of the Urban Mediator system.