Community-Based Urban Storytelling and Documentary: The Potential of Digital Placemaking Tools

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of digital-era documentary practice, focusing on the intersection of participatory documentary, digital storytelling, and digital placemaking. It investigates how digital technologies mediate the symbolic construction of a territory, shifting the community’s role from passive subjects to active “filmmakers” and co-authors of urban narratives. The study addresses authorship, the role of mobile platforms in place branding, and ethical challenges like algorithmic bias and homogenisation. The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, utilising global questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with international experts (N = 27) in digital culture, place branding, and interactive media to ensure a comparative perspective. Results introduce the “participatory city model”, where residents act as content producers, transforming place branding from a top-down product into an organic narrative. Mobile apps serve as vital bridges between physical and digital spaces, enhancing community attachment. The study identifies risks and concludes that effective digital placemaking must be a bottom-up process prioritizing authentic, diverse voices over “Instagram-worthy” curated images.