Combining e-Participation with Augmented and Virtual Reality: Insights from a Design Science Research Project

When it comes to construction projects, public debates and protests may arise if architectural plans remain unshared with the citizens they might affect. To involve the public affected by construction projects, offering easily graspable visualization for citizens is key. E-Participation provides opportunities to include technological innovations that help to inform the public and offering diverse feedback mechanisms. We design and evaluate an e-participation application that uses augmented reality and virtual reality technology to let citizens participate in the development of public construction projects. Following the design science research approach, we put forward a set of meta-requirements and design principles for the development of an e-participation application using these technologies. Furthermore, we present insights into what forms and levels of participation citizens and initiators are interested in, when it comes to the use of augmented and virtual reality for e-participation, and thereby explore the potentials of these technologies for public participation.