Participatory Design Process of a Supportive Digital Platform to Enhance Local Urban Food Systems

Area of Science:

• Urban Agriculture
• Digital Food Systems
• Community-Based Participatory Research

Background:

• Digital tools offer potential for local food systems but face adoption challenges.
• Underserved users often resist top-down digital platforms due to literacy, trust, or relevance issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To co-design a digital platform, AgriShare NYC, with urban growers in New York City.
• To ensure the platform design reflects growers' priorities, capacities, and concerns.

Main Methods:

• A four-phased participatory design process was employed.
• Methods included in-depth interviews with 17 growers and three participatory design workshops with 21 participants.
• Design criteria were developed collaboratively to shape the platform's evolution.

Main Results:

• Growers' data monitoring was limited by labor, time, digital literacy, and organizational factors.
• Simplicity emerged as a key design principle for the digital platform.
• The platform's focus shifted from data collection to connectivity, mutual aid, and advocacy.

Conclusions:

• Participatory design is crucial for developing effective digital tools in urban agriculture.
• AgriShare NYC was redesigned to prioritize grower-to-grower connections and address tangible needs.
• The platform aims to strengthen urban growers' networks and highlight systemic challenges.