Co-creation of Ideas in Geodesign Process to Support Opinion and Decision Making: Case Study of a Slum in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Geodesign is a method that deals with the potential of geoinformation technologies on shared platforms to create collective agreements, by processes of co-creating ideas for the territory. The case study demonstrates the potential of a web-based platform developed by the authors for Geodesign processes, adapted to the local culture, with exploration of data consumption resources and adoption of mechanisms for collective creation of ideas and of voting based on the Delphi method. The case study reports a work developed in a slum called Confisco, located in the cities of Belo Horizonte and Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil, where people live under pressure of social and environmental risks. The platform developed was initially tested with a group of academics from the university, with the goal to defining adjustments on geovisualization of information, but the main application was with people of the place. We emphasize that the platform favors the understanding of the citizen’s reading ability about their reality, reducing external interference in the process. As a result, we observed the importance of the mediators of the technical staff, who act as a support for understanding the dynamics of the process, but respecting citizens’ participation.