Participatory urbanism platforms must balance stakeholder needs to both empower citizens and exact change from the local authority. While many platforms can trigger discussion, changes will only be achieved through successful collaborative efforts. This paper outlines the challenges and opportunities of designing for participatory urbanism, drawing on a case study completed with UNICEF and underserved communities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our design approach helped to generate physical changes in the community infrastructure, and the beginnings of behavioral changes for community residents.

In this paper we present the design considerations of Locast H2Flow, an educational tool created to guide learning in a local urban space. In particular, we explore the prospect of utilizing mobile devices to scaffold the learning process. Challenged by missions and guided by templates on a mobile phone, the students construct geo-referenced video reportages and documentaries about sustainable water issues within their community. A deployment with a class of high school students in Italy provides initial user feedback on the learning experience and the scaffolding overall of the learning process.

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