The Emotional Disconnect: Challenges in Translating Digital Citizen Participation into Meaningful Urban Design

Pleasant, multisensory urban experiences can enhance well-being. This study examines the use of digital tools to collect emotional data in participatory planning, focusing on how citizens’ emotional experiences can foster meaningful collaboration. Although smart technologies offer new ways for citizens to engage, this literature review reveals a significant gap between the collection of emotional data and its practical application in urban development. As well as highlighting the potential of emotional data for creating more liveable cities, this literature review also exposes the systemic challenges of current participatory design practices. We utilise activity theory to conceptualise the urban planning process as a collective activity system shaped by stakeholder interactions, cultural structures and collaboration. Our findings advocate for multidisciplinary research to establish an evaluation framework focused on evaluation of suitable participation and communication methods, data usability, the alignment of shared stakeholder objects and the development of common emotional vocabularies. Our findings suggest the need for multidisciplinary research to achieve a thorough understanding of the participation process, as well as a redefined and more careful evaluation of suitable participation and communication methods This integrated approach is essential for translating citizens’ subjective lived experiences into measurable, influential factors for future urban environments.