ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the evolution of the use of technologies in supporting democratic and transformative landscape planning processes. Parallel to the evolution of technologies in democratic decision-making processes, a paradigm shift has occurred in European landscape planning education and research as a result of the European Landscape Convention of 2000. Digital participation should facilitate a dialogue between experts and citizen-scientists, grounding future policy in the experiences of those who inhabit the landscape. The chapter describes a framework for understanding the qualities of good digital participation, which it tests against four international case studies of participatory digital platforms, analyzing their potential to the empower collective decision-making, strengthen civic discourse and identity, and foster the joyful unleashing of collective creativity. Through participation, communities can coalesce around future visions, engage in constructive dialog, mend conflicts, build stronger identities, and activate their collective creativity.
