Seventeenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

The smart city concept is far from being closed and probably will never find its final resolution. Besides, the smart city concept has important components that support both its own definition and definitions of related concepts. Other crucial “smart” city components fall under this conceptual definition’s umbrella. One of the most important components of cities is their public parks. Therefore, more research should be done on parks in the context of smart cities. The research’s primary objective is to characterize the various types of solutions for the issues found in Lisbon’s public parks and, ultimately, to speculatively suggest solutions that can combat the problems. This paper’s goal is to demonstrate the problems that the questionnaire and in-person observations revealed. The survey gathered data on how people use public parks and what issues they consider most pressing. The observations, which took place in three open-air parks in Lisbon, were used to support the data regarding specific users (i.e., the elderly, kids, and teenagers), who did not respond to the questionnaire, as well as to complement the information provided by those who did. The survey’s findings show that, generally, security and cleanliness are issues that affect citizens. Additionally, observations showed that there are barriers that pose a problem for particular populations and equipment that is often left unused or put to other uses. We can draw the conclusion that technology cannot be used to solve every issue. The study encourages considering particular populations when creating and following co-design methodology.