From information to participation: interactive landscape visualization as a tool for collaborative planning

Abstract

In spatial planning, landscape visualizations are promising tools for facilitating public participation. Current developments in computer visualization now make it possible to go beyond static images and interact with virtual landscapes. This thesis addresses real-time interaction with landscape visualizations and researches the benefits of interactivity for collaborative approaches in public participation. Two research questions guide the analysis. The first research question asks: How can different types of interaction with landscape visualizations facilitate the process and improve the outcome of collaborative planning? Hypotheses are formulated on the basis of the qualities of collaborative planning. The hypotheses are tested in a multiple-case study in the Entlebuch UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in central Switzerland. The transdisciplinary research addresses the topics of tourism, agriculture and forestry in three cases. Data on the cases is gathered from different perspectives, e.g., from observation data, from facilitator interviews and from group discussions. Based mainly on qualitative methods from empirical social sciences, the analysis focuses on the key moments in which interactive visualizations have an impact on the process or outcome. The second research question asks: Are there any relationships between user group characteristics and user preferences for different types of interactions? In this question, the users are the focus. Their rankings of importance are queried in a quantitative survey on different visualization features related to interactivity. The analysis of the survey is mainly quantitative. The results of the qualitative case study provide evidence for an impact on both the participation process and the outcome. Strong evidence is given in all cases that a shared exploration of the causes of landscape change benefits from interactive navigation and spatial analysis. The spatial analysis supports the facilitator’s attempt to open the discussion on the topic of more balanced tourism strategies. There are strong indications that it has an impact on the outcome as well. In two cases, the perception, or as participants said, the imagination of the landscape is facilitated through interactive navigation. There is also evidence that the temporal navigation between different timeframes facilitates the perception of landscape change. Time progression successfully draws attention to long-term landscape processes by collapsing centuries into a few moments. For collaborative planning, it is very important to ensure an open-ended dialogue. The results show how interactive navigation can provide the flexibility needed to respond to the vivid discussion processes in collaborative planning. It is apparent in all cases that interactivity can be used to highlight points of interest and to provide immediate visual feedback. There are promising indications that interactivity may facilitate the support of minority opinions, increase the transparency of the visualization process, and facilitate collaborative learning. In one case, the overlay of maps of different stakeholder interests becomes a catalyst for conflicting stakeholder parties to come to a consensus. It can be suggested that the interactive tools help to establish a shared mental model that finally leads to a consensus.

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