Computer-mediated participation is at the crossroads. In the early heady days of the digital revolution, access to "high" technologies such as GIS promised the empowerment of marginalized communities by providing data and information that was previously hidden away from public view. To a great extent, this goal has been achieved at least in the U.S. and Western Europe – data about a range of government initiatives and raw data about different aspects of spatial planning such as land use, community facilities, property ownership are available a mouse-click away. Now, that we, the public, have access to information, are we able to make better plans for the future of our cities and regions? Are we more inclusive in our planning efforts? Are we able to foster collaborative governance structures mediated by digital technologies? In the book, these issues will be discussed using a three-part structure. The first part of the book will be theoretical – it will review the literature in the field, establish a framework to organize the literature and to link three different subject areas (participation and community development, GIS and other related technologies, and planning processes). The second part of the book will be a series of success stories, case studies that review actual situations where participatory planning using GIS has enabled community wellbeing and empowerment. These case studies will vary in scale and focus on different planning issues (planning broadly defined). The final part of the book will step back to review alternative scenarios for the future, exploring where we are headed, as the technologies we are using to plan rapidly change.
Dr. Laxmi Ramasubramanian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning. She is also a member of the doctoral faculty in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Program at the Graduate Center, the doctorate-granting institution of the City University of New York. In 2009, Anna University, Chennai, India appointed Dr. Ramasubramanian as a Visiting Professor (Overseas). This honorary appointment is intended to facilitate and strengthen collaboration between Anna University, Hunter College, and CUNY. Dr. Ramasubramanian has traveled widely, and has lived and worked in New Zealand and Australia and in many cities in the United States including Boston, Milwaukee, Washington DC, and Chicago before moving to New York in 2004.
Dr. Laxmi Ramasubramanian received a Bachelor of Architecture (B. Arch) degree from the Regional Engineering College in Tiruchirapalli. She received the prized Sir. L.M. Chitale Gold Medal in Architecture for being the top-ranked student in that graduating class. After completing her Master of Architecture (M. Arch) degree from the School of Architecture and Planning at Anna University, Laxmi moved to the United States in 1989, receiving a Master in City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1991) and eventually a PhD in Architecture (Environment-Behavior Studies) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1998).
Dr. Ramasubramanian seeks to inform and transform planning practice in order to create a just and equitable society. Specifically her research examines how the use of digital technologies such as GIS can alter social and political processes, particularly the power of individuals and institutions to create and sustain social change.
