A 2009-2010 Alice Kaplan Humanities Institute/Center for Civic Engagement Research Workshop, Northwestern University

Participatory Chinatown will us Hub2, a virtual 3D technology that enables community members to experience, not just look at, architectural designs. The project strives to augment typical community deliberation about neighborhood planning, recognizing that few laypeople possess the technical skills needed to translate inert design documents into vivid spaces. Instead of just looking at and verbally talking about design proposals, participants manipulate avatars through 3D simulations of the proposal, removing the need to translate from design to words and back again. According to Gene Koo of Hub2, this process provides a different language for community deliberation.

Today (June 22, 2007) the President of the Macarthur Foundation, Jonathan Fanton, and CEO of Linden Lab (of Secondlife) Philip Rosedale held a public discussion of philanthropy and civic engagement in Secondlife.