Understanding Near-Future Technology: An Exploration of Participatory Speculative Design for Policymaking in Shaping Connected Places

Kwon, Nuri and Cooper, Rachel and Jacobs, Naomi and Cavada, Marianna (2024) Understanding Near-Future Technology: An Exploration of Participatory Speculative Design for Policymaking in Shaping Connected Places. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has significantly impacted our everyday lives through digital technology. The 4IR enables us to be digitally connected with everyday objects almost everywhere. In particular, the emerging concept of connected places describes the vision of public spaces digitally connected to enhance the quality of residents’ lives based on data-driven decision-making processes. However, policymakers face challenges in understanding the needs and values in a place and implementing the initiatives of connected places with understanding. Meanwhile, design has evolved over the past century from contributing to offering form or functionality to embracing broader perspectives such as systems thinking. Indeed, critical design and speculative design have emerged to think beyond industrial needs and commercial returns and explore future possibilities of technology and design offers via alternative scenarios to prompt stakeholder discussions. Nevertheless, conventional speculative design has been criticised for demonstrating limited views created by privileged and highly educated groups. Critics claim speculative design should embrace more engagement with the public, especially regarding technology implementations. It links to the need to thoroughly reflect on the potential impacts before its implementation, as it could have a broad influence and cause unexpected consequences. To tackle this challenge in speculative design, participatory speculative design (PSD) has emerged to involve individuals with lived experience but not necessarily with specialised expertise. This doctoral research employed PSD approaches to explore how people without expertise in design and technology can participate in designing the future of connected places. It also aimed to discuss with local policymakers how and where they can reflect and use those insights from the public generated from PSD activities. This research methodology included contextual pilot studies and primary research. In the contextual pilot studies, the researcher actively engaged in three pilot research projects relevant to this study: local policy, speculative design, the Internet of Things (IoTs) in public spaces and place-based policymaking. Meanwhile, the primary research was designed in three stages. In Stage 1, two speculative prototyping workshops were conducted involving university students from design and architecture. In Stage 2, the researcher exhibited six prototypes created in the previous stage at two public exhibitions. Finally, in Stage 3, a workshop was organised inviting local policymakers to demonstrate PSD activities, reflect on their current policymaking practices and discuss potential areas and values of PSD. The study’s findings led to nine critical topics for discussion regarding the value of collective and collaborative efforts in speculative design. The topics include (1) rationales behind employing collectiveness in crafting speculative design, (2) values of speculation for places, (3) participants’ contributions to PSD, (4) trainability of participants, (5) multiple roles of PSD planners, (6) scope of participants, (7) diverse engagement approaches, (8) incorporating place-based approach in PSD, and (9) relevance of PSD in policymaking.