3D-Visualisering som hjälpmedel i modern planering
En utvärdering av verktyget City Planner med hjälp av fokusgrupper
Public participation is a key aspect in the planning of Swedish municipalities. It is probably the most important tool of them all in the planning towards a sustainable future within the cities and the municipalities as a whole. Participation from the public can take on several different forms. In this paper I focus to research and discuss in and around the usage of a web-based 3D platform called City Planner. The tool allows the user (the public) to view the municipalities planning in a fairly new (but quickly growing) environment. The research is made by the use of mainly focus groups as method but mixed with what is known as beta-testing and also surveys.The results showed that citizens that participated in the both the survey and the focus group found the 3D-tool both interesting and as a great asset for communication between citizens and the municipality. The tool also proved to have some issues and for some participant?s it felt complex and not as easy to use as they would like. However with some further development and the technology moving forward I argue that these kinds of tools are the way of the future. One key aspect thou is that Swedish universities and spatial planning programs need to include courses in a far more broader perspective than today. Umeå and several other municipalities are working with these tools today that I believe is very important if you want to be an outstanding municipality that strives toward a long-term sustainable open and democratic society.The topic needs more research and a report on the implementation of theses kinds of tools would be of great interest for the municipalities. However in the goal towards a better dialogue with the citizens these tools clearly provides a new door to complement older ones that in combination creates a more transparent planning process.