Involving the citizens of Prague in the development of their city was the aim of a pilot project aimed at collecting feedback called "Crossing Borders through Situational Surveys", where OICT took on the role of project manager. The collection of feedback and involvement of residents in urban planning was carried out within the framework of the CommuniCity project, which is part of the European Commission-funded Horizon Europe programme.
The digital feedback boxes, installed by the OICT in cooperation with KITT6, a contributory organisation that provides ICT services to Prague 6 and its organisations, appeared at Puškin Square and Hadovka Park in Prague 6 in early April 2024. The boxes are designed to collect feedback from residents using simple buttons and provide data that can be used to plan local projects such as playground reconstruction or improving safety at problematic intersections.
The implementer and holder of the know-how for these boxes is a spin-off of the Belgian university KU Leuven called Citizen Dialogue Kit. The project is coordinated by Forum Virium Helsinki, a Finnish municipal company dedicated to innovative projects with an emphasis on social aspects.
As part of this pilot data collection, we focused on feedback from visitors to local playgrounds. We were interested in their views on play infrastructure and suggestions for improving play areas for children. We also asked about satisfaction/dissatisfaction with public toilets near the play areas, assessing cleanliness, accessibility and overall user satisfaction.
And what were the most interesting things this pilot project found? In terms of playgrounds, 65% of visitors are people with children under 6 years old, with only 5% of people accompanying older children to the playground. 66% of respondents visit the playground weekly and 41% stay for an hour or more. Overall, 61% of people are satisfied with the play features that are on the playground, but feedback showed that people miss more facilities for older children.
For public toilets, 43% of those who use them are satisfied and 34% remained neutral, suggesting room for improvement. As part of the project, we also asked residents of Prague 6 about the design of the toilets, which showed that 50% were satisfied, but 40% were dissatisfied with the way the toilets looked.
"With the results obtained through the digital feedback boxes, we will be able to identify key areas for improving public spaces and amenities in our District 6 and plan their future development to best meet the needs of the citizens and the communities. The project has also shown how modern technologies can significantly improve communication between citizens and public administration," adds Jakub Stárek, Mayor of Prague 6: "And because the method of data collection through digital boxes has proven to be very effective, we are now arranging together with our contributing organisation KITT6 and Citizen Dialog Kit to collect more data in the same way."
This pilot project represents the first step in Prague's long-term strategy to involve citizens in decision-making processes and improve the urban environment. "The advantage of digital boxes for collecting feedback directly on the streets is also that feedback will be provided by citizens who would not normally express themselves," says Luboš Kratochvíl, CEO and Chairman of the Board of OICT. Thanks to such collection, Prague will also gain additional data for the data base that the city is already working with.
About the CommuniCity project
CommuniCity is an international project focused on finding digital solutions to social challenges in cities. The project promotes collaboration between cities across Europe and offers a platform for sharing best practices and innovations in social development. The CommuniCity project is an example of how digital technologies can contribute to a more inclusive society by enabling citizens to participate in planning the development of where they live. Prague is engaging in the project to improve citizen participation in urban planning and development through innovative feedback collection.
