The use of ICT-based participation tools in urban design has come into prominence in the last decade. A plethora of technology-enabled participatory tools, techniques, and applications have been developed to facilitate the participation of citizens as well as other stakeholders. This study specifically focuses on ICT-based participation platforms that aim to serve as forums to respond to social and spatial needs. Many studies have reported that the use of these participatory platforms has led to positive outcomes. However, their potentials and limits for facilitating different levels of design empowerment (Senbel and Church, 2011. Design Empowerment. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 31(4), 423–437.) remain unknown. In this context, the aims of this study are: (1) to determine how these platforms empower and restrict citizens’ engagement by analysing a variety of ICT-based participation platforms in Europe, and (2) to determine the factors that can facilitate better participation practices. This research analyses 25 ICT-based participation platforms that go beyond one-sided information exchange. They were chosen out of a database of 106 platforms. These were evaluated according to their objectives, the design action phases in which they are designated to be used, their desired levels of design empowerment and their functionalities. The findings indicate that a majority of these platforms (76%) focused on two particular objectives: problem identification and feedback collection. Only three platforms (12%) enabled users to create their own plans and visions, since empowering citizens to design independently is a challenging task. Many of the platforms aimed at higher levels of design empowerment but failed to provide the required functionalities users need. 40% of the platforms did not have any tools for citizens to track whether their ideas, plans, and projects were implemented or not. In conclusion, we discuss the implications of these findings and identify the key factors for better design practices for ICT-based civic participation platforms.

In recent years, the changing pattern of human activities, increasing data regarding the spatial environment, and the possibility of collecting and processing this data allowed us to reconsider how we approach urban design, with a focus on a digital-oriented and data-driven perspective. In this study, we examine the evolution of urban design by analyzing the roles of designers and citizen empowerment. Our analysis includes a literature review and semi-structured interviews with computational design experts. In this sense, the literature is reviewed to investigate previous discussions and findings about the topic, and semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven computational design experts. The experts were selected by considering two criteria: (1) their experience with computational urban design subjects in practice and (2) their academic research background. This study concludes that technology-driven urban design solutions change designers' relationship with data, opening new avenues for objective, data-driven & data-informed decision-making. There are few differences between traditional and computational design practices regarding user empowerment and participatory design. Moreover, technology-driven urban design tools and methods are still in their early stages and are rarely used in actual projects.

Turkey is vulnerable to disasters such as earthquakes, flood, and landslides. Millions of housing units are planned to be demolished and rebuilt in the next 15 years within the scope of urban transformation. The existing legal framework and implementations are hardly participatory and thus cause conflicts. The aims of this study are: 1) to address the weaknesses and strengths of urban transformation practices in Turkey critically with a focus on Istanbul, and 2) to develop a new participatory design model for urban transformation processes by making use of contextualised ICT-based participation tools and techniques. This paper critically maps and discusses urban transformation processes in Istanbul by tracing how these practices take place on the ground and considering the different perspectives of stakeholder groups. We present an applicable model that consists of a system of participatory actions, interaction environments such as an expert collaboration platform developed specifically for Istanbul’s urban transformation process.

Today, the design and management of the mosque are subject to criticism in many ways, like not being responsive to the needs of different user groups and causing socio-spatial justice problems between genders and generations. This study examines the extent to which mosques provide socio-spatial inclusion by analyzing problems experienced in mosques, user satisfaction, and user perceptions of the socio-spatial inclusiveness of mosques. Methodologically, an online survey was conducted with 521 participants living in Türkiye. In addition, a workshop will be held with 17 participants who are currently involved in research on mosque design to develop proposals at a strategic level to address the identified issues. This study reveals that there are critical socio-spatial problems faced by users in mosques: (1) problems of representation inequality in decision-making about the design and management of mosques (the gaps of representation equality), (2) limited responsiveness to users' spatial expectations due to the neglect of the needs of important stakeholders such as women, children and youth in society (3). Only a very limited group of users (18.4%) are satisfied with the spatial experience in mosques. Additionally, almost one-third of the respondents (30.1%) perceive mosques as 'middle-aged or elderly male-dedicated spaces,' with this perception being more prevalent among women and young people. At the end of the study, we discuss the socio-spatial dimensions that will form the basis for a “Mosque for All”.

Earthquakes are the most devastating natural disasters, causing extensive loss of life and damage. Traditional methods, such as drills and instructional materials, focus on individual preparedness, overlooking group dynamics that shape real-world evacuations. In crowded settings like schools and hospitals, peer influence, leadership and collective decision-making significantly impact evacuation outcomes. Game-based learning offers an interactive approach to disaster preparedness, yet most serious games rely on single-player training or AI-driven simulations where non-player characters (NPCs) attempt to mimic human behavior. These models often fail to capture real-time social interactions, limiting their effectiveness in preparing individuals for group evacuations. This creates a critical research gap, as there is limited understanding of how multiplayer game-based training can improve collaborative decision-making and evacuation efficiency. This study conducts a systematic literature review using SCOPUS and Web of Science databases to examine the relationship between multiplayer game-based training and earthquake evacuation preparedness. The review aims to identify key findings, highlight existing research gaps and explore the role of multiplayer interaction in improving evacuation efficiency and adaptive decision-making. While previous studies have primarily focused on individual-centered evacuation training, few have examined the real-time impact of multiplayer interactions on group evacuation behavior and decision-making dynamics. Additionally, the influence of social factors—such as peer interactions, leadership roles and collective decision-making—on evacuation performance remains largely underexplored. Furthermore, the potential of multiplayer serious games to enhance engagement, situational awareness and collaborative problem-solving has received limited attention in existing research. Future studies should prioritize empirical investigations into the effectiveness of multiplayer serious games in enhancing group coordination, role differentiation and social influence during evacuations. Moreover, integrating multiplayer game-based training into official disaster preparedness programs could provide a more dynamic, interactive and socially realistic approach to emergency response education.