Towards the Human-Centric City : an experimental Service-Design Approach
Schaumann, Manuel (2025)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052716654
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052716654
Tiivistelmä
The study investigated how Service-Dominant Logic (S-D Logic), Co-Creation and Open Innovation can reframe urban public space as a co-creative service ecosystem. Set within a public street festival, the work aimed to enhance citizens’ ability to shape streetscape transformations and to offer city administrations, planners, and civic organizations empirically grounded guidance for participatory, people-centered urban development.
An experimental process of service design was applied. Digital text-to-image Artificial Intelligence (AI) supported ideation; festival visitors generated over 100 design visions, shortlisted them through online voting, and selected a preferred concept. Landscape architecture students prototyped the winning idea on-site. Data comprised AI artefacts, voting analytics, participant observations, and seven semi-structured expert and stakeholder interviews. The material was examined through qualitative, structured content analysis, informed by Mayring (2022).
Results showed that AI visualization lowered entry barriers and stimulated diverse creative contributions. However, meaningful value emerged only through subsequent dialogue, feedback, and the physical appropriation of space. The prototype converted a traffic corridor into a sociable “place.” It demonstrated that perceived value-in-use is situational and emerges from a process of co-creation. Perceived value through co-creation serves to enhance personal identity and place attachment. Sustainable impact was found to depend on institutional openness, iterative feedback loops and clear governance that integrates digital tools without substituting genuine participation. Recommendations include establishing permanent urban living labs, embedding feedback mechanisms, and developing ethical standards for AI-assisted public engagement.
An experimental process of service design was applied. Digital text-to-image Artificial Intelligence (AI) supported ideation; festival visitors generated over 100 design visions, shortlisted them through online voting, and selected a preferred concept. Landscape architecture students prototyped the winning idea on-site. Data comprised AI artefacts, voting analytics, participant observations, and seven semi-structured expert and stakeholder interviews. The material was examined through qualitative, structured content analysis, informed by Mayring (2022).
Results showed that AI visualization lowered entry barriers and stimulated diverse creative contributions. However, meaningful value emerged only through subsequent dialogue, feedback, and the physical appropriation of space. The prototype converted a traffic corridor into a sociable “place.” It demonstrated that perceived value-in-use is situational and emerges from a process of co-creation. Perceived value through co-creation serves to enhance personal identity and place attachment. Sustainable impact was found to depend on institutional openness, iterative feedback loops and clear governance that integrates digital tools without substituting genuine participation. Recommendations include establishing permanent urban living labs, embedding feedback mechanisms, and developing ethical standards for AI-assisted public engagement.