Augmented and Mixed Reality for Communities

Using mixed and augmented reality in communities is an emerging media practice that is reshaping how we interact with our cities and neighbors. From the politics of city hall to crosswalks and playgrounds, mixed and augmented reality will offer a diverse range of new ways to interact with our communities. In 2016, apps for augmented reality politics began to appear in app stores. Similarly, the blockbuster success of Pokémon Go illustrated how even forgotten street corners can become a magical space for play. In 2019, a court case in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, extended first amendment rights to augmented reality.

For all the good that these emerging media provide, there will and have been consequences. Augmented and Mixed Reality for Communities will help students and practitioners navigate the ethical design and development of these kinds of experiences to transform their cities. As one of the first books of its kind, each chapter in the bookprepares readers to contribute to the Augmented City. By providing insight into how these emerging media work, the book seeks to democratize the augmented and mixed reality space.

Authors within this volume represent some of the leading scholars and practitioners working in the augmented and mixed reality space for civic media, cultural heritage, civic games, ethical design, and social justice. Readers will find practical insights for the design and development to create their own compelling experiences. Teachers will find that the text provides in-depth, critical analyses for thought-provoking classroom discussions.

Joshua A. Fisher, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Immersive Media at Columbia College Chicago. He teaches the design and development of augmented, mixed, and virtual reality (XR) experiences. Fisher received his doctorate in digital media from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Fisher’s dissertation explored the rhetorical affordances of XR for interactive non-fiction within communities. His research continues to explore the social, ethical, and political consequences of how practitioners design, develop, and deploy XR experiences. Fisher has published in the proceedings of CHI, ICIDS, IEEE VR, ACM MM, and CHI Play. Currently, he is developing an undergraduate and graduate curriculum for immersive media at the college.

As both a scholar and practitioner, Fisher has worked with the Arthur M. Blank Foundation and the Knight Foundation on immersive media experiences. His work has also led to productive partnerships with cultural institutions such as Poetry East, the O’Miami Poetry Festival, and Atlanta Bicycle Coalition. In the past, Fisher’s interactive media experiences have won recognition from The Guardian, Fast Company, and O, the Oprah Magazine.