IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021 - 61

public interest technology (PIT), commonly defined
as " the deployment of technological expertise in
service of the common good, often with a focus
on under-resourced communities and needs " [9],
promises more impactful outcomes.
From the PIT point of view, a sustainable urban
environment depends as much on creating an inclusive
space that is safe, accessible, and comfortable
for a diverse group of citizens as it does on deploying
" smart " technologies for energy efficiency or environmental
protection. This is because citizens will be
more likely to adopt technologies promoting sustainability
that are well aligned with their lived needs and
experiences. In this article, we present the rationale
behind an ongoing interdisciplinary research project
titled " Sustainability means inclusivity (SuMIn) " that
aims to address exactly this problem by using a participatory
design approach. Focusing on a smart city
test site in Sweden where sensors are currently being
deployed to collect data on, for example, noise, particles,
vehicle numbers, and types, the goal is to bring
local residents and government representatives into
dialogue with technical developers by adopting a
" meet-in-the-middle " approach [10].
Background
Since 2019, an IoT testbed is being deployed along
the full length of Kungsgatan, Norrköping, Sweden.
The road is slightly over 1 km in length, located in the
center of the city with an emergency services station
at one end and a police station at the other. It comprises
a wide range of buildings, including housing,
restaurants/cafes, stores, and university premises. It is
in an area where construction is taking place, so in
addition to a busy flow of residents, students, and businesses,
there are also large vehicles delivering materials
to building sites. Part of the road runs over a bridge
with a footpath. Close by, there are elder care facilities,
nurseries, schools, pubs, and housing located, so the
area accommodates a wide variety of users.
In the SuMIn project, we use two complementary
methods to explore the testbed and engage with
its potential users. First, we engage in an in-depth,
STS-inspired ethnographic process that asks: what
assumptions do technical developers and other " topdown "
stakeholders have about what constitutes
" useful " data to collect from a smart city test site?
Second, we conduct a living lab (LL) participatory
design process that works closely with a range of citizens
to explore how their needs can be best served
September 2021
by the test site. By placing the findings from these
two processes in dialogue with one another, we raise
awareness of local needs, elucidate the fit between
design assumptions and real use, and empower
local citizens to initiate data collection through the
test site that addresses their own concerns. This article
focuses on the LL aspect of the project.
In preparation for the launch of the LL, we conducted
a pilot workshop and launched a cultural
probe to raise the visibility of the project and start
engaging with citizens. Organized in September 2019,
the pilot workshop used pictures of Kungsgatan taken
at different times and locations to prompt the 11 participants
to identify the positive and negative things
about the area in its current state. In Spring 2020, eager
to continue citizen engagement despite COVID-19
restrictions, we then delivered a cultural probe package
containing a packet of coffee and future-oriented
materials to 50 local citizens/business owners. The
cultural probe was based on coffee fortune-telling-a
traditional way of speculating on possible futures
through free interpretation of nonfigurative images
in the bottom of the cup-to offer participants a collaborative
medium to explore alternative futures in a
playful and informal way [11], [12]. Together, these
two activities identified both current issues with the
area, as well as hopes for the future, and paved the
way to the launch of the LL proper.
Next steps
Following the collection of cultural probes, we
organized a workshop at the end of September
2020 that launched the LL. This was attended by
four citizens, one municipality employee, and two
project affiliates. We interpret the low attendance as
a result of COVID-19 and related restrictions which
influenced the entire LL process (see the " Discussion "
section). The kickoff workshop was conducted
by two of the authors with the involvement of five
students from a master's program in design. The students
were engaged in the workshop as part of a studio
course on sociotechnical intervention that these
authors were teaching.
During the workshop, the participants were split
into two groups, each working at a different table in
the room and facilitated by one author and a couple
of students. Engaged in different activities, both
groups focused on exploring how Kungsgatan can
and should be in ten years-inspired by the Sustainable
Development Goals in Agenda 2030. Group A
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IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021

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