ICT-mixed community participation model for development planning in a vulnerable sandbank community: Case study of the Eco Shezi Island Plan in Taipei City, Taiwan

Community participation is considered a key factor for planning related to disasters and environmental issues in an international context. This paper proposes a new model combining conventional face-to-face interaction and information and communication technology-based (ICT) approach's so-called ICT-Mixed Community Participation (ICTMCP) model. By demonstrating the planning process of the Eco Shezi Island (ESI) plan, developed through sustained face-to-face community participation and an ICT-based citizens' referendum by those living on Shezi Island in Taipei City, this paper evaluates and discusses the effectiveness of the ICTMCP model during both the face-to-face community participation on planning to conquer vulnerability and the ICT-based community participation for the decision making of ESI. This paper finds that the success of the ICTMCP model requires a steady face-to-face community participation in the preceding stage for the final decision making through ICT-based approach, and the effect can be exhibited only by properly combining both of them.