Urban planners, and municipalities in general, are often burdened by a broad range of tasks and daily challenges, many of which require quick action. While many aim to achieve a more sustainable and resilient urban environment, reaching those goals can be full of challenges: environmental literacy issues, communication and collaboration barriers. Some central challenges include, for example, ensuring a meaningful participation process that can enable information gathering, and dissemination of information about future projects and activities. Another current challenge is the improvement of the socio-ecological systems so that their properties coincide with the resilience principles.

With on-going digital transformation, extended reality (XR) tools are becoming more and more accessible. The quality of the experience, the user-friendliness and the usability of its output are improving. In urban planning context, the use of XR is making its first baby-steps. Nevertheless, XR tools have shown a great promise in engaging the audience in a novel way. There is a large variety of XR tools used within and outside spatial planning. Because of this, professionals that are not well informed about the possibilities of using these tools in resilient urban and regional planning context are faced with a daunting task when considering using XR in the process of participatory planning. For example, if a municipality decides to start using XR in their planning process, several questions need to be answered beforehand. The questions may include: what exactly to use it for, what kind of technology to use and how to harness its potential in the best possible way. Along with those questions many practical aspects arise – how to address these topics in procurements and how to determine the best possible solutions in regards to handling the data, the copyright and enhancing the life cycle of such technology. In order to really harness the potential of using these tools in planning processes, these developments should be purposefully guided. While XR tools hold promise as an interface to present urban data and facilitate stakeholder participation, they only represent a small segment within the digitalisation of the urban planning processes. Their long-term feasibility depends largely on how well they are connected to municipal processes and information flows as part of larger digitalisation efforts.

These policy recommendations summarise the main insights from the Augmented Urbans project focusing on two main aspects: the use of XR and participation. These recommendations are compiled in accordance with the recognised resilience principles (link to table in resilience chapter). They aim to guide municipalities and their urban planners to make informed decisions. These recommendations have two-fold focus: they help to design a socio-ecologically resilient planning process and guide developers working with XR to enhance the usability of tools aimed for urban planning and participation.

Two main recommendations are: 

  1. Resilience concept is functional when it is applied throughout the planning process and consistently in planning documents, policies, procurements and management. Considering seven resilience principles can help in translating the concept to the practical level of urban planning actions.
  2. Resilience requires an interdisciplinary approach to planning. High-quality planning procedure lies in systematic and designed co-operation and communication between spatial planners and XR-experts. Communication barriers between different practitioners should be overcome by defining core principles and by demonstrating successful examples.
Seven resilience principles as defined by Stockholm Resilience Centre

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Manage slow variables and feedbacks Maintain diversity and redundancy Broaden participation Broaden participation Broaden participation Encourage learning

Use a combination of participation methods – both traditional and XR tools.

Recommendations in XR

Combine traditional methods such as meetings with XR tools (e.g. touch screens, VR). This enables better interaction and collection of feedback, making stakeholders feel more included in the planning process.

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Promote polycentric governance Promote polycentric governance Promote polycentric governance Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Encourage learning

Use XR to demonstrate future changes even beyond the current plan.

Recommendations in XR

XR allows to demonstrate future changes and challenges e.g water level rise, extreme weather events but also positive aspects, for example, the potential increase in biodiversity or social benefits from community gardening, to a broad audience.

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Manage slow variables and feedbacks Maintain diversity and redundancy Broaden participation Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Manage connectivity Encourage learning

Develop adaptable and accessible models and templates to understand complex flows and feedbacks.

Recommendations in XR

Develop accessible model templates that increase capacity to calculate and understand complex flows and feedbacks (e.g water level rise, air quality changes, species redundancy) that can be adapted to different cities, regions and contexts.

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Manage slow variables and feedbacks Maintain diversity and redundancy Broaden participation Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Manage connectivity Encourage learning

Use XR tools in projects that entail significant social and ecological risk or uncertainty.

Recommendations in XR

XR holds the power to communicate complex information in a comprehensible way and to create empathy, which is vital in projects that have the potential to influence social and ecological processes.

Promote polycentric governance Promote polycentric governance Promote polycentric governance Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Manage connectivity Manage connectivity

Extend the life cycle of XR tools.

Recommendations in XR

Maximise the life cycle of the XR models by developing and applying adaptable designs that make the models usable in different urban development projects.

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Manage slow variables and feedbacks Maintain diversity and redundancy Broaden participation Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Manage connectivity Encourage learning

Increase the capacity of technology to visualise local biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Recommendations in XR

Technological solutions (e.g VR) should include temporal cycles (e.g seasonal characteristics) and regional differences (e.g visualisation of most common native vegetation). Visualisation quality is important when engaging the stakeholders. VR solutions enable to visualise processes and benefits which are not observable in real life, e.g demonstrating vegetation’s role in air purification or noise reduction.

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Manage slow variables and feedbacks Manage slow variables and feedbacks Broaden participation Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Encourage learning

Use user-friendly XR in participation.

Recommendations in XR

When using XR in participation, user-friendly design is key to engaging stakeholders and providing optimal output for planners. To achieve this, cooperation between the IT sector and planners is vital, mutual understanding of needs and expectations and technical possibilities is key. User-centred design approach is essential – XR needs to be understandable, easy to navigate, and serve a purpose for the viewer. Prioritise which features and functionalities to include – having too many can become confusing or too time-consuming for the users. Plan how to provide support for people who are not used to these tools.

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Promote polycentric governance Maintain diversity and redundancy Broaden participation Broaden participation Broaden participation Encourage learning

Make participation interactive.

Recommendations in XR

Participation is more engaging when it is interactive. Make participation interactive by using e.g VR. It gives diverse stakeholders a possibility to communicate their thoughts without having to know how to interpret official planning documents. Interactive solutions provide an opportunity to test new technologies which attract otherwise inactive participatory groups.

Broaden participation Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Encourage learning

Set clear goals for XR in the planning and participation process.

Recommendations in XR

Identify the use context of the XR before deciding the most suitable technological option. Carry out the first user survey before starting the technological development to determine the target group. For that, find the most suitable medium, platform, tone and style for speaking to the target groups. Map the functionality of  XR: 1) what added value it creates; 2) what kind of output is required from the application; 3) what is the afterlife of the XR application like and whether it can be adapted to be used also for future projects to create added value.

Promote polycentric governance Maintain diversity and redundancy Broaden participation Broaden participation Manage connectivity Encourage learning

Use XR to increase time of presence when communicating and collecting feedback from stakeholders.

Recommendations in participation

XR is one way to do that without being physically present the entire time.

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Promote polycentric governance Maintain diversity and redundancy Broaden participation Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Manage connectivity Encourage learning

Showcase planning success stories and their measurable effect on local resilience and sustainability.

Recommendations in participation

These can also be used as examples in the participation process and to enhance awareness. It is also vital to overcome potential communication barriers between different practitioners by defining core principles and by providing exemples.

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Promote polycentric governance Maintain diversity and redundancy Broaden participation Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Manage connectivity Encourage learning

Work in interdisciplinary teams at local municipality level.

Recommendations in participation

To ensure the multi-level application of resilience principles, work in interdisciplinary teams at the local municipality level, throughout the planning process. A broad team of experts can help identify the key variables and feedbacks that maintain the provision of desired ecosystem services. Include outside expertise, considering also the use of citizen science, to fully understand the socio-ecological system, where needed.

Manage slow variables and feedbacks Promote polycentric governance Promote polycentric governance Broaden participation Foster complex adaptive systems thinking Manage connectivity Encourage learning

Encourage co-creation and co-management.

Recommendations in participation

Engaging people in co-creation, and where possible co-management, of spaces increases social interaction and cohesion, creating possibilities for learning.

Promote polycentric governance Maintain diversity and redundancy Broaden participation Broaden participation Manage connectivity Encourage learning

Use participatory methods as means for education and awareness raising.

Recommendations in participation

By enhancing stakeholder knowledge their ability to provide useful feedback increases the adoption of co-planning and co-management of sustainable and resilient systems in the future.