Playing With The Glocal Through Participatory e-Planning

Abstract

The application of ICTs has turned everyday life increasingly glocal with both positive and negative consequences. However, the local and the global are not polarities but interdependent categories representing multilayered space, which may be shaped, to a certain degree, through participatory e-planning. With participatory e-planning we mean the socio-cultural, ethical and political practice which takes place offline and online in the overlapping phases of the planning and decision–making cycle, by using digital and non-digital tools. But how does participatory e-planning that mainly serves the community, also help stakeholders to play with the glocal? The aim of the article is to present a set of examples from the Finnish context and to discuss, how community informatics may provide opportunities for stakeholders to deal with the glocal in the area of environmental improvement. On the basis of our comparative analyses and a case study in Finland, we claim that participatory e-planning enhances playing with the glocal, if certain technical, organizational and institutional capacities and a supportive infrastructure exist.