Providing a common place for citizens to gather and discuss topics of mutual interest is a new challenge for social and collaborative computing. Web-based tools for civic engagement, while promising, are still disconnected from meaningful physical locations where citizens usually meet and might limit the involvement of a considerable portion of the citizen population. In order to truly enhance civic participation using digital tools, we discuss the benefits of leveraging on the useful function that public places have in promoting and regulating citizens' participation in public decisions. We argue that systems designed to support civic participation should consist of both online and onsite components, and we propose as example an interactive public display connected to the World Wide Web. From lessons learnt in the field during the design and the development of such system, we therefore discuss some issues relevant for practitioners who want to adopt such approach.
Bringing Together Online and Onsite Technologies to Support Large-Scale Civic Participation
Schiavo, Gianluca;
2013-01-01
Abstract
Providing a common place for citizens to gather and discuss topics of mutual interest is a new challenge for social and collaborative computing. Web-based tools for civic engagement, while promising, are still disconnected from meaningful physical locations where citizens usually meet and might limit the involvement of a considerable portion of the citizen population. In order to truly enhance civic participation using digital tools, we discuss the benefits of leveraging on the useful function that public places have in promoting and regulating citizens' participation in public decisions. We argue that systems designed to support civic participation should consist of both online and onsite components, and we propose as example an interactive public display connected to the World Wide Web. From lessons learnt in the field during the design and the development of such system, we therefore discuss some issues relevant for practitioners who want to adopt such approach.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
