Understanding Near-Future Technology: An Exploration of Participatory Speculative Design for Policymaking in Shaping Connected Places
Creators: name: Kwon, Nuri
Publisher: name: Lancaster University
Year: 2024

description: 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.