The Pamplona City Council is advancing its Linguistic Normalization Plan through a participatory process. After a diagnostic phase on language use in the city, it is preparing the proposal development stage. This case is a perfect example to explore how 3D visualization and interactive tools can transform and enrich participatory democracy, making complex data more comprehensible and attracting a more diverse citizenry.
Technical Tools for Shared Diagnosis and Simulated Proposals 🛠️
The diagnostic phase could greatly benefit from interactive 3D maps showing linguistic vitality by neighborhoods, overlaying demographic data, facilities, and people flows. Instead of static reports, citizens could explore this data intuitively. For the proposal phase, visual simulations of the impact of specific measures could be developed, such as bilingual signage in a 3D model of the urban space or the representation of cultural offerings in each language. Immersive platforms would allow walking through these proposals, facilitating a more informed and emotionally connected evaluation.
Beyond Graphics: Towards Inclusive and Meaningful Participation 🌍
The true power of these tools is not just aesthetic. It lies in their ability to make complexity accessible, fostering more inclusive and grounded participation. By visualizing future scenarios, the abstraction of public policies is reduced. The technical and ethical challenge is to design these visualizations in a neutral and comprehensible way, avoiding biases, so that they serve as a common ground where citizen deliberation focuses on arguments and not on the interpretation of opaque data.
How can 3D visualization of sociolinguistic data transform citizen participation in the creation of public policies for linguistic normalization? 🗣️
(P.S.: simulating a scrutiny in 3D is more reliable than the real one, but less exciting)