Conducting Sensitive Digital Place Design
2026 (English)In: Tourism and Place Design: Designing Places to Live, Operate and Visit / [ed] Fredrik Hoppstadius, Mekonnen Tesfahuney, Ulrika Åkerlund, Taylor & Francis Group, 2026, p. 159-173Chapter in book (Other academic)
Abstract [en]
This chapter investigates how we can facilitate a sensitive digital and collaborative place design process to promote a more nuanced and sustainable development of digitalised experiences and services in harmony with a local place. The use of technology-driven experiences and place-specific digital services at destinations has expanded, especially within the tourism industry. These services may range from digital map functions, place-specific information, or narratives to augmented reality experiences and virtual representations. The common feature among these media technologies is that they, in different ways, reference a place, known as geomedia technologies, which connect media, local places, and local narratives. However, the development and implementation of these technologies tend to overlook spatial implications and lack critical reflection, failing to align with local conditions or highlight unique local assets. Consequently, tourism stakeholders and residents experience a loss of control over development and information, which favours generalised technical solutions and user-generated content from visitors. We therefore propose a collaborative and inclusive place design process that considers the relationship between people, place, and media technology concerning the present, the past, and the future. In this chapter, we present geomedia sensibility. These theoretical underpinnings frame sensitive digital place design and illustrate how to conduct a collaborative design process guided by geomedia sensibility through a specific design case. © 2026 selection and editorial matter, Fredrik Hoppstadius, Mekonnen Tesfahuney and Ulrika Åkerlund; individual chapters, the contributors.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis Group, 2026. p. 159-173
Keywords [en]
Design, Tourism, Virtual reality, Common features, Critical reflections, Design-process, Digital map, Digital places, Digital services, Media technology, Specific information, Tourism industry, Virtual representations, Augmented reality
National Category
Human Geography
Research subject
Human Geography
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-110312DOI: 10.4324/9781003620174-14Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105038486646ISBN: 9781003620174 (electronic)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kau-110312DiVA, id: diva2:2063625
2026-05-292026-05-292026-05-29Bibliographically approved