Interactive art in the suburbs: Art projects that increase involvement from the community

In this article we examine how interactive art can be integrated into city planning. A pleasant, safe and aesthetically pleasing environment, inspired by residents’ needs and desires, has been our objective. During the last seven years, the city of Örebro has cooperated with us, three artists, to develop community-based projects aimed at raising levels of involvement amongst residents. Residents have participated in creative workshops together with the artists in order to realize a better living environment for all concerned. We have worked in close cooperation with local authorities, businesses and associations. We have applied involvement culture to suburban settings, producing both temporary artworks and more permanent changes to peoples’ quality of life. Our findings constitute a growing source of knowledge to be used to foster democratic city planning well anchored in the community. Many of the residents who became involved in the art projects, that we carried out on behalf of the municipality of Örebro, had never been given the chance to influence city planning or the creation of an artwork. We were able to create spaces and places that were not only public in name but also in content.