"With a large part of the built environment privately owned in many European cities, citizen engagement is crucial for the success of sustainability initiatives in urban areas. The use of digital platforms and tools can support this process, given their potential to enable remote participation, reach a large number of citizens, and enhance governance transparency. However, many digital platforms for citizen engagement in sustainability action remain underutilised.
This study adopts a user-centric perspective to analyse the interface design of over ten digital platforms and identify design elements that hinder or foster engagement. Our analysis highlights four main interface issues: disconnection between scientific data and personal experience, complex navigation, information overload, and limited opportunities for action.
To overcome these limitations, we developed a set of design guidelines addressing four themes: Awareness and framing, Individual and collective action, Effective use of data, and Navigation and visuals. We implemented these guidelines in two prototypes, focusing on heat waves and biodiversity loss in urban areas. The prototypes were tested in workshop settings with positive feedback from participants, corroborating the importance of citizen-centric interface design in ensuring effective citizen engagement."
In the presentation, the researchers showed the Citizen Voices for Biodiversity (BIO-CiVo) and Citizens meet Climate (CmC) studies. Their goal is to design citizen-centric digital platforms that address the complexity of climate change and ensure engagement. Context analysis was performed at different levels: for the CmC-platform on city-level in Rotterdam, Amsterdam & Delft, and for the BIO-CiVo study on neighbourhood-level in Oud-Mathenesse (Rotterdam). The research is designed as recurring cycles of R-D-T: Research & Reflect - Design - Test. The testing was done by paper prototyping. By making use of visualization, personas and story-telling, the researchers contribute to a more inclusive field of climate action of citizens. In the slides you find more information on the background, methodology and design guidelines.
Presentation by Juliana Goncalves and Geertje Slingerland (TU Delft)
AMS Institute, Scientific conference 'Reinventing the City -Blueprints for messy cities? Navigating the interplay of order and complexity' The Old & New City (Diversity & Inclusion) - 23 April 2024
Icon afbeelding: Presentation "Citizen Voices in Climate Action: The role of interface design in digital engagement" by Geertje Slingerland & Juliana Goncalves (AMS Institute Scientific Conference Reinventing the City, April 23, 2024)
