April 6, 2001

Online Tools for Collaborative Decision Making

IDS Research Colloquium
April 6, 2001 (Friday): 10:30 AM @UH2350
“Online Tools for Collaborative Decision Making”
By
Professor Kheir Al-Kodmany
College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
 

Abstract

As the Internet continues to reshape how the public communicates, planners have the opportunity to use Web-based technologies to widen access to decision making in community planning and design. This paper describes an interactive web-based survey tool that was used to advance a community planning process in the Chicago area. The project involved collaboration between researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and leaders and residents of Pilsen, a nearby community. The team used a process taken from the work of Jack Nasar (The Evaluative Image of the City, 1998) who developed a method of surveying residents to determine which areas they like and dislike in their community, with the goal of creating a single "evaluative image" of the community that could guide future design and development. Researchers employed a Web-based interactive map that was linked through a server to a GIS program, rather than the traditional phone survey used by Nasar. This project builds upon an earlier version of the survey in which the map was limited to only one section of the community. In increasing the complexity and coverage area of the survey, we were able to develop a more comprehensive understanding of community residents' evaluative image of the whole community. The paper ends with a discussion of the obstacles and future implications of using the WWW to further public participation in planning.
 

About the Speaker

Dr. Kheir Al-Kodmany has been an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago since 1995. He teaches geographic information systems, urban data visualizations, Web-based applications and urban design. Previously, Al-Kodmany worked for the company of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago where he designed projects in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. Al-Kodmany’s recent research focuses on reshaping planning and design through powerful computerized visualization including Geographic Information Systems, 3D modeling, Hypermedia and Virtual Reality. Al-Kodmany advances foundational urban design theories and integrates multiple traditional and computerized visualization tools to create synergetic interactive visualization environments that inform urban planning decision making processes and enhance public participation.