Tools for Community Energy Empowerment: A Co-Design Approach

Growing concern about depleting energy resources and climate change impacts has increased the need for visualization tools that enable interactive exploration of local conditions and adaptation measures for an expanding range of user profiles. This research develops an interactive energy visualization platform for community stakeholders to collectively explore information on climate conditions, energy resources and demands, and strategies for building and urban design adaptation. The platform is designed to offer three critical capabilities not yet integrated within existing climate and energy feedback tools: visualization of existing and anticipated climate conditions within a geographically defined community; comparison of energy resource and demand in a spatial and temporal way; and exploration of existing and future scenarios of climate-responsive building and urban design strategies. This chapter describes the development of the interactive energy visualization platform and how it can facilitate new opportunities for participatory capacity building and energy awareness through a co-design approach. Building on interactive processes for design and user feedback, the platform introduces experimental methods for community stakeholders to offer architects, urban planners, and policy makers new insights on the values and design opportunities for strengthening the adaptive qualities of a mid-sized city. Through this co-design approach, the platform has potential to empower the community through heightened communication, shared knowledge, and design decision-making in relationship to energy management and strategies for climate adaptation.