Engaging and Informing Citizens with Household Indicators

Urban simulation systems can be a powerful tool for helping to understand the complex, long-term consequences of urban planning decisions. Simulation results are summarized and reported using indicators: aggregate measures such as population density or total minutes of vehicle delay. To citizens without expertise in urban planning, such indicators may be abstract and unfamiliar; they are difficult to compare to experiences of the city today. Household Indicators address this gap by presenting a personalized, household-level view on simulation results through a web-based interface. This paper discusses the design of a Household Indicators tool, employing the Value Sensitive Design theory and methodology.