CI-assisted participatory planning and design as a perspective to ICT-mediated participation: a case-study in Helsinki

The application of community informatics-assisted urban planning and design is still rear in the Finnish context. The aim of the article is to present and discuss the potentials of community informatics for participatory planning and design, as well as for ICT-mediated participation in general. The article is based on a case study on the co-design of a shared yard at the Roihuvuori Youth Centre, in Helsinki. The application of ICT meant in this case that the local website with specific tools, such as the Urban Mediator, was used as a platform and a medium to co-create, share and distribute information concerning the progress of the design of the yard. We argue that CI-assisted participatory planning and design provide a viable perspective and significant tangible and intangible contributions to ICT-mediated participation in urban issues. The perspective also enhances the learning of digital citizenship skills among young people, if the process is well organised and facilitated.