Mapping Emerging Interaction Technologies for Inclusive Co‐Creation in Urban Planning

Abstract

Urban planning today faces a dual challenge: the growing complexity of urban projects, involving more stakeholders at various stages of the projects, and a fragmented technological landscape where emerging digital tools remain largely experimental and prototypical, leaving planning systems without a comprehensive overview of how to integrate them. This mismatch creates communication gaps and limits the capacity of planning systems to respond effectively to emerging challenges. Digital technologies such as extended reality (XR), hybrid and tangible user interfaces are developed to support participatory processes in urban planning. However, due to their underdeveloped nature and the lack of a systematic overview, their integration into co-creation workflows remains uneven. This article shifts the focus from technological capabilities to the role of interaction technologies as mediators of spatial knowledge by developing an analytical framework that combines interaction qualities with knowledge governance dimensions. The framework is applied to map 36 interaction technologies. The results reveal fragmented capacities: Tools tend to optimise individual dimensions, such as immersion or collaboration, while rarely supporting integrated knowledge production. Three recurring tool profiles are identified, alongside systemic trade-offs between immersion and collaboration and visual fidelity and analytical depth. The article contributes a use-case matrix to synthesise the interrelations between interaction technologies, planning phases, stakeholder configurations, and participatory objectives for more inclusive and transparent urban planning.