New JPMD Article Explores How 3D City Mapping Can Support Stakeholder Co-Creation
A new article published in the Journal of Place Management and Development (JPMD) explores how digital tools can support stakeholder engagement, co-creation, and place attractiveness in small- and mid-sized cities.
The latest EarlyCite paper, “From administrative tools to place attractiveness: stakeholder cocreation in 3D city mapping for small- and mid-sized cities”, by Malin Sundström, Joakim Lind and Johanna Lindström, examines how 3D city mapping evolved from a technical planning tool into a broader platform for collaboration and place development.
Using the Swedish city of Trollhättan as a case study, the article demonstrates how 3D mapping technologies can help bring together local authorities, businesses, residents, planners, and other stakeholders to collectively shape discussions about the future of place. Rather than functioning solely as administrative or visualisation tools, the authors argue that digital platforms can become socio-technical infrastructures that enable ongoing dialogue, participation, and shared decision-making. The paper highlights how stakeholders used the 3D mapping platform to articulate different needs, expectations, and aspirations for the city, helping to negotiate competing visions of place attractiveness. In doing so, the research contributes to wider debates around smart cities, digital placemaking, participatory governance, and collaborative approaches to place management.
The findings are particularly relevant for practitioners and policymakers working in smaller cities and towns, where digital tools may offer new opportunities to strengthen engagement and improve how places communicate future development proposals. The article also reinforces the importance of viewing digital infrastructure not simply as technology, but as part of the wider social and governance systems that shape places.
The article is now available via EarlyCite and is Open Access:
