TRACK 16: Planning Responsibilities in the Face of Information Technology

 

Co-chairs: Paulo Silva, Michele Campagna

In the rising era of big data and ubiquitous computing and sensing, new information resources open unprecedented opportunities for knowledge building, design, evaluation and decision-making support in spatial planning. Public institutions are not anymore the only actor controlling information flows as authoritative sources of information are paralleled by volunteered ones opening new possibilities for pluralism in knowledge building.

Since the welfare state crisis spatial planning became an activity not anymore exclusively under public control. The need to share responsibilities implies also the share of information. Collaboration and communication became critical factors for more responsive forms of planning as societal claims for access to information in planning may became a way to build citizenship and democracy. Hence, Information flows became central in planning debates.

However many ethical issues arise related to personal privacy, selective access, data representativeness or transparency of data processing. How to provide equal access and equal opportunity to use the information? How to get those without effective access to ICT participating in planning? How the responsibilities should be spread among all the actors?

Considering the information technology development, the shifts in planning processes and the claim for new ways of government, authors are kindly invited to submit their contributions aiming at clarifying such issues as:

• What is the role of information in decision making?
• Does more information mean better planning?
• How can information technologies adapt to a context of planning within fuzzy responsibility?
• How can information sharing deal with contexts of poverty, marginality and unequal access to ICT, contributing to citizenship and democracy?
• How do planning professionals integrate new technologies into the planning process?

These issues contain a less explored debate around ICT and spatial planning, which, considering the topic of the present congress makes much sense to be addressed. Such themes as Geodesign, Spatial Data Infrastructures, Volunteered Geographic Information and Social Media, Big Data, Virtual Geographic Environments, spatial analysis and models, Planning Support Systems, and Smart Cities are particularly welcome, but the track is open to the combination with other relevant themes raised by this topic such as governance, public participation or planning processes.