The active use of modern technology has affected the relationship between people and place. The “digital environment” and the “digital community” are becoming an increasingly important factor in people’s daily life, leading to a loss of belonging to a place, an entire neighbourhood, and a community. In the long run, this poses risks to the unification of values and the loss of identity. In this context, the involvement of the local community in the identification and preservation of historical heritage and defining the specific values of each site is particularly important. Thus, both the attraction of the local community to specific places and the revealed potential of local tourism are promoted. Digital placemaking enters urban regeneration as a logical approach to mixing digital and physical environments and involving the local community. Several GIS-based platforms and other tools are used to identify heritage values, both tangible and intangible. Although digital placemaking is emerging worldwide, its manifestations are closely related to specific local circumstances. The article focuses on the key characteristics and configurations of the digital placemaking tools within particular communities. The study tests digital placemaking practice in the historical districts of three cities: Taipei (Taiwan), Riga (Latvia), and Kaunas (Lithuania).

The topic of justice and equality in Lithuania has been studied mostly from the sociological point of view and the most commonly used concepts are segregation, differentiation, and polarization. The article analyzes the concept of spatial justice, its theoretical and practical assumptions discuss urban policy, how the public understands spatial justice and how it is taking part in the decision-making in Lithuanian city planning processes. For the case study, the examples of public participation in urban planning processes in Kaunas city are analyzed.

The aim this research was to develop and test the mapping methodology, that would be applicable in the process of community involvement into place-making process and would focus on functioning and usage of public spaces. The methodology is referred to a Present Map methodology and is structured as a one-day mapping workshop involving drawing from memory, fieldwork, identifying the locations in the geographical map, structuring of the collected information and entering data into interactive online Present Map. The application of the methodology in Sanciai historic district has demonstrated that this methodology allows both collecting the material about the people’s experiences in public spaces of the locality necessary for research and planning, as well as connecting community with the place and empowering it by providing the working tools for exploration and understanding of the place and platform for expression in a form of interactive online Present Map.

Participation in decision-making processes foreshadows enabling citizens, communities, non-governmental organizations and other interested parties to influence the formulation of policies and laws affecting them. The purpose of this study is not only to review Lithuanian legal documents but also to analyse recent processes in Kaunas city planning. Kaunas city is undergoing various urban processes, which do not always meet the needs of the community. This study presents an analysis of the forms of community involvement in the urban planning processes and survey data on the effectiveness of community involvement. The methodology requires using a sociological survey with representatives of the city community and a comparative analysis between legal obligations and actual urbanization process.

For successful and efficient participatory planning, continuous improvement and assessment of its tools is needed. The aim of this research is to summarize the methodologies, process, and results of the participatory workshops carried out within the framework of the Genius Loci project implemented in the Šančiai neighbourhood (Kaunas, Lithuania), and to draw conclusions and insights on the effectiveness, advantages, and possibilities of using urban theories and approaches, such as mental mapping, sociotope methodology, and pattern language in participatory planning tools. The possibilities of application of the design thinking approach in facilitating the process and improving user experience are also discussed. The article includes a brief introduction to the activities of the Genius Loci project with the following focus on workshops, their methodologies, processes, and outcomes from the point of view of urban theories applied. The main outcome is the summary table demonstrating features of participatory tools (workshop sessions), elements of urban theories applied, and their evaluation followed by conclusions.

The paper discusses the possibilities of HBIM usage in foreign countries and Lithuania. Methods used in the paper are analysis of the literary sources, review of legal documents relating to the digitization of buildings, and analysis of case studies in foreign countries. The aim of the paper is to present the main stages of HBIM process for the historical buildings renovation. Nowadays HBIM process in Lithuania focuses on scanning heritage sites and reproducing realistic images and the attribute data for cultural heritage sites and incorporating them into HBIM models. The process is in the initial stage.