Non-human Personas. Including Nature in the Participatory Design of Smart Cities

For the past decades humans have been placed at centre of designing information and communication technologies (ICT), leading to rise in prominence human-centred design. The field smart cities has equally adopted notions citizen participation as a way ensure that technological solutions improve people’s livelihoods. However, these kinds processes treat urban environment separate from nature, promoting human comfort convenience over planetary health wellbeing. Motivated by growing concerns highlight urgency reconsider how we define practice ICT more broadly, this article assesses personas method can be adapted include more-than-human perspectives design process. Based on case study, which involved furniture for non-human use, introduce framework developing employing personas. As key element framework, describe middle-out approach forming coalition speak behalf species are impacted decisions. We demonstrate used through its retrospective application two research-led city projects. concludes with discussion principles creating using