How can we ensure that citizens are more involved in the decisions that affect the areas they live in?
As cities like Aarhus grow, there is an increasing need to incorporate more perspectives and interests into the decision-making processes. At the same time, citizen participation is a key component in strengthening the democratic conversation, which is characterized by mutual understanding and respect. The goal is not necessarily consensus, but rather to achieve a more nuanced and fair understanding of the conflicts that arise through dialogue and participation.
To meet this need, new solutions are required to enhance dialogue between citizens, politicians, and decision-makers. In this context, digital technologies can play an important role in promoting democratic discussions on urban development, for example, in terms of visualization, document management, and communication.
Aarhus Municipality, CAVI, and SHAPE will collaborate to explore how Aarhus’ citizens can be involved in the democratic process through digitally supported dialogues. The project aims to investigate and systematize research in this area. Another goal is to develop and test a prototype of a digital solution that can support democratic dialogue within one of the municipality’s working groups, which focuses on local plans for renewable energy facilities.
SHAPE contributes expertise in digital democracy, ensuring that the technological solutions are advanced and support open and inclusive democratic processes. CAVI, specializing in user-friendly design, brings years of experience from research projects and design development across both the public and private sectors, ensuring that the platform is intuitive and easy for citizens to use. The collaboration with Aarhus Municipality is crucial, as the municipality serves as the link between citizens and politicians and has an understanding of local needs and political processes.
The project will result in:
