E-participation using the metaverse: A methodological framework for e-townhalls and online gaming

List of Authors

  1. Vijay Palliyil ,  
  2. Niklas Suhre ,  
  3. Meng Cai ,  
  4. Hiba Karam ,  
  5. Lalita Phatthanachaisuksiri ,  
  6. Holly Madill ,  
  7. Saya Noor ,  
  8. Eva Kaßens-Noor
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Abstract

The metaverse offers new opportunities for online participatory research, with immersive, interactive virtual spaces that support collaboration and real-time interactions between avatars. While previous studies indicate that metaverse environments can enhance participation by increasing engagement and motivation, there is no methodological framework designed to fully utilise the capabilities and features of these virtual spaces for participatory research. Our research aims to address this gap by proposing a metaverse-based methodological framework, combining two interactive methods: e-townhall and an online game. An e-townhall is a gamified, synchronous virtual event that enables participants to discuss topics as avatars, providing insights into their levels of support or opposition and their reasons for doing so. The online game is an asynchronous, single-player game that captures individual preferences of the avatars. For demonstration, we implemented this framework in the virtual city “Spectra” in an online metaverse platform Spatial and tested both methods. By supporting individual-level and global-scale participation, this framework enables the collection of anonymized data from diverse demographics without geographic limitations. Our approach offers an adaptable and scalable model for online participatory research.

Corresponding author
Eva Kaßens-Noor
0000-0002-4311-7239
Grant information

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number [101087218] (Urban scAInce: why and how cities transform through artificial intelligence and their associated technologies [scAInce]). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Copyright
© 2025 Vijay Palliyil (Co-Author); Niklas Suhre (Co-Author); Meng Cai (Co-Author); Hiba Karam (Co-Author); Lalita Phatthanachaisuksiri (Co-Author); Holly Madill (Co-Author); Saya Noor (Co-Author); Eva Kaßens-Noor (Corresponding Author, Co-Author) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Authors & roles

Vijay Palliyil

Institute of Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering, University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, 64297, Germany

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0001-8467-7542

Niklas Suhre

Institute of Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering, University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, 64297, Germany

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Validation, Writing – Review & Editing
0009-0006-4168-1115

Meng Cai

Institute of Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering, University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, 64297, Germany

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-8318-572X

Hiba Karam

Institute of Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering, University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, 64297, Germany

Roles
Co-Author, Investigation, Validation, Writing – Review & Editing
0009-0000-2882-2143

Lalita Phatthanachaisuksiri

Institute of Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering, University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, 64297, Germany

Roles
Co-Author, Investigation, Validation, Writing – Review & Editing

Holly Madill

School of Planning Design and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA

Roles
Co-Author, Methodology, Validation
0009-0008-5198-4931

Saya Noor

Ludwig-Georgs-Gymnasium, Darmstadt, 64283, Germany

Roles
Co-Author, Methodology, Validation
0009-0002-5206-5140

Eva Kaßens-Noor

Institute of Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering, University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, 64297, Germany

School of Planning Design and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA

Roles
Corresponding Author, Co-Author, Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Supervision, Validation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-4311-7239

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