Public engagement and participatory advancement in architecture have entered a new level, as public expectations rise and technological innovations create new opportunities. Stakeholders can contribute to architecture through variety of new technological tools that evolved significantly over the last decade and the key question is how to make architecture better by using them. The paper presents findings of the initial stage of research – exploratory literature analysis of emerging trends for adopting virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and other human–computer interactions in urban design and architecture. The goal is to figure out the most recent trends of how public can participate and improve the quality of architecture through modern technologies. The results show that directions of current investigations on participatory advancement in architecture by using extended reality (XR) solutions develop in these main directions: easy to use tools, simulation of space and content, evaluation of results, continuous participation of stakeholders and adoption of XR solutions in architectural design, urban design and landscape architecture.