Focus Area 4
e-Planning, e-Government, & e-Participation
This research stream focuses on the role of digital civic participation (or e-participation) on e-planning and e-government. A recent initiative under this stream is integrating multi-sensory (e.g., sight, sound, smell) and atmospheric experiences (e.g., heat, humidity) with the immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology, with a specific focus on “smell”. The goal is to examine if or how IVR technology coupled with multi-sensorial and atmospheric parameters can (i) increase the level of public participation and (ii) promote a better understanding of a simulated urban environment.
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Relevant Ongoing Projects:
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Using Immersive and Multi-Sensory VR in Participatory Planning
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NJ Municipal Asset Profiler and Watershed Explorer
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Relevant Articles:
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Meenar, M. (2017). Using participatory and mixed-methods approaches in GIS to develop a Place-Based Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Index. Environment and Planning A, 49(5), 1181–1205.
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Mandarano, L. & Meenar, M. (2015). E-participation: comparing trends in practice and the classroom. Planning Practice and Research, 30(4), 457-475.
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Mandarano, L., Meenar, M., & Steins, C. (2011). Building social capital in the digital age of civic engagement. Journal of Planning Literature (special issue on Communicative Cities), 25(2), 123-135.
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Six Focus Areas
