ARPP: An Augmented Reality Participatory Platform to Engage Disadvantaged Communities in Building Walkable Neighborhoods

Saeed Ahmadi Oloonabadi (College of Design, North Carolina State University)
Perver K Baran (North Carolina State University)
Kofi Boone (North Carolina State University)

Research shows that low-SES and racial/ethnic communities have inequitable access to environments that contribute to health-related behaviors, such as walking. Many of such communities are often marginalized in decision making, and top-bottom participatory approaches have not always been successful in engaging residents to improve their physical environment. Recently, digital technologies have been used to address health and environmental disparities and expand participation among underrepresented communities. For many low-income families, smartphones are the only means to interact with the digital world and therefore, there would be an excellent opportunity to integrate smartphones in participatory methods, the technique that called mobile-participation.

In this presentation, we introduce Augmented Reality Participatory Platform (ARPP), a novel method that uses mobile-based Augmented Reality (AR) to engage citizens in assessing street features that improve walking. The main component of ARPP is an AR app that enables residents to superimpose virtual walking-related elements over the real environment and visualize future walkable scenarios of the neighborhood. This platform is intuitive, affordable, interactive, and more importantly in-situ. Furthermore, it is a self- reported tool to evaluate what is missing in or should be removed/replaced from neighborhood streets to make them healthier and walking-friendlier. As part of the beta testing, we will integrate ARPP within a community design visualization project in a graduate landscape architecture studio class at North Carolina State University. The project will involve the use of digital models of design alternatives for consideration by a community in North Carolina. We will work with the residents of the community in using the AR app to help them visualize different design scenarios in situ. A survey will be conducted to evaluate the usability of the AR app and assess how users experience it. Findings of this beta testing will help refine the app to be used in other communities.