Ituita : an interface for playful interaction and socio-spatial transformation.

Abstract

This paper discusses Ituita, an interactive media cascade built in Congonhas (Minas Gerais, Brazil) that displayed residents’ perceptions of their city and sought to engage people in discussion, decision-making and direct action. It fi rst introduces Ituita’s purpose of socio-spatial transformation, and how this focused on the design process away from technological development to stimulate dialogical interactions. It argues that representative democracy helps support capitalist interests and hinders direct action that could build a deeper form of citizenship. It then presents the development of Ituita’s ideals and discusses Ituita’s failures. In particular, it considers the need for a pedagogical process that could promote continuous engagement with the city. The following section of the article discusses how an urban interactive interface might trigger engagement, by means of autonomy, leading to a deeper form of citizenship, and how this might enable people to move beyond the political limits of representative democracy. In a brief fi nal section, the lessons for practice are drawn out.