From Smart City to Smart Engagement: Exploring Digital and Physical Interactions for Playful City-Making

Abstract

Drawing on the collective knowledge, skills and creativity from a variety of top-down and bottom-up stakeholders is required to address the needs, wants and aspirations of people in the 21st century city. Collaboration and interaction in the city-making process is a key driver for both, the acquisition of skills and knowledge, as well as creativity and innovation. Novel ideas, specific skill sets and knowledge that contribute towards innovation, collaboration and creativity are increasingly based at the intersection of fields, disciplines and cultures. Government organisations and private enterprise have acknowledged that the involvement of both top-down and bottom-up stakeholders from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures achieves more equitable city-making outcomes and supports communities in pursuing local identity and self-governance. This book chapter proposes to present a critical review of projects and installations that deployed situated digital technologies within public spaces, as a mechanism to engage passers-by into playful interactions. Additionally, examples of physical installations will also be discussed, such as urban art projects, yarn bombing and parkour that adopted DIY and guerrilla tactics to engage people in public spaces. Using the insights derived from the review, the book chapter will present a smart engagement framework for playful city-making consisting of digital and physical mechanisms for greater collaboration.