1st Edition

Increasing Participatory Engagement through Technology and Design New Approaches for Participation

Edited By Mari Suoheimo, Jonna Hakkila, Ravi Mahamuni Copyright 2026
282 Pages 69 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

282 Pages 69 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This broad-ranging edited collection highlights the role that technology can play in increasing community engagement in participatory design, now and in the future.

Challenging conventional notions of participatory design, this volume provides innovative solutions in areas such as democracy, sustainable living, smart cities, energy, and transport. Design has the capacity to engage citizens and communities in new and different ways, and  since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become increasingly important to rethink how services and engagement can be made digital. Each chapter demonstrates applied and potential uses of emerging technologies as a form of engagement with select case studies from South and North America, Europe, and Asia, all grounded in participatory theories, methods, and practices. Togeether, they explore how the green transition, the move to Industry 5.0, global-centric design, or systemic design approaches play a role in citizen engagement when current paradigms are being challenged. Leading practitioners and researchers cover topics such as crowd-sourcing information gathering, visual and systems thinking, creativity tools, participatory budgeting and governance, online participation, and citizen engagement to bridge communities and government.

This interdisciplinary book provides theoretical and practical knowledge for those who work with citizens, communities, and participants in multiple contexts, including designers in the fields of interaction and user experience design, product design, service and system design, social design, and design for policy and governance. It will also appeal to managers, public and private sector planners, engineers, and policymakers.

Chapter 1. Introduction

Mari Suoheimo, Jonna Häkkilä and Ravi Mahamuni

 

Section I – Looking at the Landscapes of Engagement and Participatory Design

 

Chapter 2. Sharing Power by Participant Co-Research: A Scoping Review Investigating the Interconnection of Participatory Action Research, Co-Design, Engagement and Technology

Monica Aejmelaeus, Ville Louekari, Hanna Gröndahl, Heloísa Seratiuk Flores, Mari Suoheimo and Petri Nokelainen

Chapter 3. Living Law Labs ask the public Sites of Participatory AI: Experimental Infrastructures for Ethical AI Futures

Jules Rochielle Sievert, Yue Ang and Miso Kimhical

 

Section II – Engagement in Shaping Democracy        

 

Chapter 4. Democracy by Design: Applying Latin American Lessons to Boston's First Participatory Budgeting Process

Maria Ramirez Cifuentes, Estefania Ciliotta Chehade, Angelique C-Dina and Michael Arnold Mages

Chapter 5. Engaging in the Safety Design of Sustainable Tourism Services: The SafetySpinner Tool for Participatory Design

Minna Virkkula, Hong Li and Zhengya Gong

Chapter 6. Participatory Citizen Engagement in the North: Exploring Green Transition Futures with Generative AI

Siiri Paananen, Rauni Äärelä-Vihriälä, Pigga Keskitalo and Jonna Häkkilä

Chapter 7. Rethinking Civic Engagement

Chorong Kim and Ki-Young Nam

 

Section III – Holistic Sustainability and Way of Living          

 

Chapter 8. From Design to Adoption: A Responsible Approach to Stakeholder Participation in Digital Health Innovation

Hong Li and Yangyang Zhao

Chapter 9. Usability in Sustainable Systems: A Service Design Perspective

Kuisma Hurtig, Timo Luukkonen, Kati Pitkänen and Ashley Colley

Chapter 10. Designing for Green Transitions: A Case Study of Reusable Takeaway Bowls in Airports

Elisabeth Tschavgova, Sonja van Dam, Conny Bakker, Jo van Engelen and Rita Jonyer

Chapter 11. Digital Archiving with 3D Photogrammetry and On-site Ideation for Enhanced Participation with Non-Humans

Tokushu Inamura, Melanie Sarantou, Kanako Tomisawa and Daisuke Oka

 

Section IV – Future Smart Cities and Transportation

 

Chapter 12. Designing Mobility Futures Through Strategic Citizen Engagement

Manuela Quaresma

Chapter 13. Engaging Citizens in Robot Dog Interaction in Smart Cities - Perceptions in Public Spaces

Emma Kirjavainena, Matilda Kalving, Siiri Paananen, Ashley Colley and Jonna Häkkilä

Chapter 14. Engaging Stakeholders in Prototyping with Immersive Theatre Practices and Worldbuilding on the Virtual Production Stage

Ella Björn, Satu Miettinen, Tuukka Uusitalo, Jyrki Kaukomies, Marjuska Kaukomies, Henna Huotarinen and Reetta Kupari

Chapter 15. A Framework of Engaging Smart Technologies for Citizen Participation in the Lifecycle of Sustainable Built Urban Environments

Kaisa Väänänen, Nur Samancioglu, Jouko Makkonen, Raul Castano De la Rosa, Anniina Autero and Sofie Pelsmakers

 

Conclusion      

 

Chapter 16. Conclusions - Synthesising Participatory Design, Engagement, and Innovation for the Future

Ravi Mahamuni, Jonna Häkkilä and Mari Suoheimo      

           

           

Biography

Mari Suoheimo is an Associate Professor at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, Norway. Her main research focus is on how to approach wicked problems in service design. Suoheimo is also part of the editorial board of the Design Journal and the Contexts Systemic Design Journal.

 

Jonna Häkkilä is Professor for Industrial Design at the University of Lapland, and docent in Human Computer Interaction at the University of Oulu, Finland. She leads the user experience research group LUX focusing on design and technology, and has received numerous grants e.g. from EU, Academy of Finland, and Interreg.

 

Ravi Mahamuni is Principal Scientist at TCS Research and Adjunct Professor at IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay. He is Design Thinker with 29 plus years of experience, his research focuses on design for change, system design and service design at scale. He believes in technology as an enabler while humanizing the services. He also advises several academic institutions on matters related to design, technology, and social change.