Exploring Digital Participation with Children to Co-produce Knowledge for Active Neighbourhoods using SoftGIS methodology in Delhi, India

DigiPACK aims to demonstrate the potential of innovative digital participatory tools for mapping and comparing active mobilitybehaviour and localized experiences with children across their gender, age, socio-economic status and settlement typologies withinthe Global South context.

The key research objectives are: (1) to adapt and contextualize SoftGIS methodology for enabling digitalparticipatory planning with children in India; (2) to map and compare childrens active mobility behaviour (mode of transport,accompaniment, home-school route) and environmental experiences (location of meaningful places, frequency of visits, perceivedenvironmental fears and likability index) across four dimensions of age, gender, socio-economic status and urban settlementtypologies using SoftGIS; and (3) to evaluate the potential of SoftGIS methodology to integrate within Indias urban planning policyframework.

Adopting a comparative case study approach, the SoftGIS data will be collected from children aged 10-17-years frommiddle and lower-middle-income families across three distinct neighbourhood settlement typologies of Delhi and analysed usingquantitative statistical techniques. Actor-Network-Theory will be employed for evaluating the role of SoftGIS in the participatoryplanning policy framework.

The project results, including contextualized digital methodology and new knowledge on how age,gender, socio-economic status and urban settlement influence childrens active mobility behaviour, will open up new researchavenues and have the potential to revolutionize participatory urban planning with children in India, and the Global South morebroadly.

The 2-year project will be hosted by the Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, whose leading expertise inpioneering the SoftGIS methodology since 2005, will assist me in acquiring new technical skills and building strong Europeannetworks to pursue a career in academia within the Global South context.