Dr Joel Fredericks
People_

Dr Joel Fredericks

PhD; BRTP (Hons)
Lecturer in Design
Program Director - Bachelor of Design (Interaction Design) and Bachelor of Design Computing
Dr Joel Fredericks

Dr Joel Fredericks is a Senior Lecturer in Design at The University of Sydney’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning. His research investigates the interaction between people, place, and technology, focusing on community engagement, co-design, emerging technologies, and non-human perspectives in design.

Joel has authored numerous publications, including Media Architecture Compendium Vol. 2, which draws from academic research and global case studies to provide an evolutionary perspective on the concepts, methods, and practices of media architecture and interaction design. Through his research and teaching, he promotes collaboration between diverse representatives to achieve inclusive design outcomes and collective decision-making.

Before joining the School of Architecture Design and Planning, Joel worked as an urban planner and community engagement consultant on a range of infrastructure projects in local government, road, rail, water, telecommunications, and energy sectors. He is the co-chair of the annual Community Engagement Summit, which brings together leading practitioners and scholars from local government, state government, industry, and academia.

  • Technology supported community engagement
  • Crisis resilience and AI-supported tools
  • Sustainable development and more-than-human centred futures
Project titleResearch student
Urban Interiors and social media: A methodology exploration for interior architectsTracy HUANG
Enhancing the Sense of Safety in Urban Communities through Urban Robotics TechnologyQiuming ZHANG

Publications

Books

  • Fredericks, J., Tomitsch, M., Hespanhol, L., Hoggenmueller, M., Caldwell, G., Hausler, M., Tscherteu, G. (2023). Media Architecture Compendium Volume 2: Concepts, Methods, Practice.. Denmark: Avedition.

Book Chapters

  • Caldwell, G., Fredericks, J., Hespanhol, L., Chamorro-Koc, M., Maria, J., Maria, J. (2021). Putting the people back into the "smart": Developing a middle-out framework for engaging citizens. In Aurigi, A. and Odendaal, N. (Eds.), Shaping Smart for Better Cities: Rethinking and Shaping Relationships between Urban Space and Digital Technologies, (pp. 239-266). London: Elsevier. [More Information]
  • Parker, C., Tomitsch, M., Fredericks, J. (2021). Smart engagement for smart cities: Design patterns for digitally augmented, situated community engagement. In Aurigi, A. and Odendaal, N. (Eds.), Shaping Smart for Better Cities: Rethinking and Shaping Relationships between Urban Space and Digital Technologies, (pp. 177-200). London: Elsevier. [More Information]
  • Fredericks, J. (2020). From Smart City to Smart Engagement: Exploring Digital and Physical Interactions for Playful City-Making. In Anton Nijholt (Eds.), Making Smart Cities More Playable: Exploring Playable Cities, (pp. 107-128). Singapore: Springer. [More Information]

Journals

  • Tomitsch, M., Fredericks, J., Vo, D., Frawley, J., Foth, M. (2021). Non-human Personas: Including Nature in the Participatory Design of Smart Cities. Interaction Design and Architecture(s), (50), 102-130.
  • Fredericks, J., Hespanhol, L., Parker, C., Zhou, D., Tomitsch, M. (2018). Blending pop-up urbanism and participatory technologies: Challenges and opportunities for inclusive city making. City, Culture and Society, 12, 44-53. [More Information]
  • Hespanhol, L., Davis, H., Fredericks, J., Caldwell, G., Hoggenmueller, M., Farmer, J. (2018). The Digital Fringe and Social Participation through Interaction Design. The Journal of Community Informatics, 14(1), 4-16.

Conferences

  • Gemperle, J., Hoggenmueller, M., Fredericks, J. (2024). Exploring Participatory Design in Urban Community Gardens. Media Architecture Biennale Conference (MAB '23), online: Media Architecture Institute. [More Information]
  • Fredericks, J., Foth, M., Davis, H., Caldwell, G., Parker, C., Tomitsch, M. (2022). Designing Smart for Sustainable and Resilient Communities: The Role of Participatory Design in Addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. PDC 2022 17th edition of the Participatory Design Conference, Newcastle upon Tyne United Kingdom: ACM New York, NY, USA. [More Information]
  • Foth, M., Caldwell, G., Fredericks, J. (2021). A COVID-19 Horizon Scan Looking for Post-Pandemic Implications for Design. Cumulus Roma, online: Cumulus Conference.

2024

  • Gemperle, J., Hoggenmueller, M., Fredericks, J. (2024). Exploring Participatory Design in Urban Community Gardens. Media Architecture Biennale Conference (MAB '23), online: Media Architecture Institute. [More Information]

2023

  • Fredericks, J., Tomitsch, M., Hespanhol, L., Hoggenmueller, M., Caldwell, G., Hausler, M., Tscherteu, G. (2023). Media Architecture Compendium Volume 2: Concepts, Methods, Practice.. Denmark: Avedition.

2022

  • Fredericks, J., Foth, M., Davis, H., Caldwell, G., Parker, C., Tomitsch, M. (2022). Designing Smart for Sustainable and Resilient Communities: The Role of Participatory Design in Addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. PDC 2022 17th edition of the Participatory Design Conference, Newcastle upon Tyne United Kingdom: ACM New York, NY, USA. [More Information]

2021

  • Foth, M., Caldwell, G., Fredericks, J. (2021). A COVID-19 Horizon Scan Looking for Post-Pandemic Implications for Design. Cumulus Roma, online: Cumulus Conference.
  • Tomitsch, M., Fredericks, J., Vo, D., Frawley, J., Foth, M. (2021). Non-human Personas: Including Nature in the Participatory Design of Smart Cities. Interaction Design and Architecture(s), (50), 102-130.
  • Caldwell, G., Fredericks, J., Hespanhol, L., Chamorro-Koc, M., Maria, J., Maria, J. (2021). Putting the people back into the "smart": Developing a middle-out framework for engaging citizens. In Aurigi, A. and Odendaal, N. (Eds.), Shaping Smart for Better Cities: Rethinking and Shaping Relationships between Urban Space and Digital Technologies, (pp. 239-266). London: Elsevier. [More Information]

2020

  • Hoggenmueller, M., Tomitsch, M., Fredericks, J. (2020). Bringing Sustainability-Sensitivity into the Design of Public Interfaces: Opportunities and Challenges. CHI 2020: The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Online: CHI. [More Information]
  • Fredericks, J. (2020). From Smart City to Smart Engagement: Exploring Digital and Physical Interactions for Playful City-Making. In Anton Nijholt (Eds.), Making Smart Cities More Playable: Exploring Playable Cities, (pp. 107-128). Singapore: Springer. [More Information]
  • Fredericks, J., Tomitsch, M., Haeusler, M. (2020). Redefining Community Engagement in Smart Cities: Design Patterns for a Smart Engagement Ecosystem. In Carlos Nunes Silva (Eds.), Citizen-Responsive Urban E-Planning: Recent Developments and Critical Perspectives, (pp. 13-53). Hershey: IGI Global. [More Information]

2019

  • Parker, C., Fredericks, J., Yoo, S., Hoggenmueller, M. (2019). "Let's take a selfie": Design considerations for public selfie booths. 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction (OzCHI 2019), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
  • Fredericks, J., Parker, C., Caldwell, G., Foth, M., Davis, H., Tomitsch, M. (2019). Designing smart for sustainable communities: Reflecting on the role of hci for addressing the sustainable development goals. 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction (OzCHI 2019), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
  • Parker, C., Fredericks, J., Yoo, S., Hoggenmueller, M. (2019). Let's take a selfie: Design Considerations for Public Selfie Booths. 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction (OzCHI 2019), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]

2018

  • Fredericks, J., Hespanhol, L., Parker, C., Zhou, D., Tomitsch, M. (2018). Blending pop-up urbanism and participatory technologies: Challenges and opportunities for inclusive city making. City, Culture and Society, 12, 44-53. [More Information]
  • Fredericks, J., Caldwell, G., Foth, M., Tomitsch, M. (2018). The City as Perpetual Beta: Fostering Systemic Urban Acupuncture. In Michiel de Lange and Martijn de Waal (Eds.), The Hackable City, (pp. 67-92). Singapore: Springer. [More Information]
  • Hespanhol, L., Davis, H., Fredericks, J., Caldwell, G., Hoggenmueller, M., Farmer, J. (2018). The Digital Fringe and Social Participation through Interaction Design. The Journal of Community Informatics, 14(1), 4-16.

2017

  • Fredericks, J., Tomitsch, M., Stewart, L. (2017). Design patterns for integrating digitally augmented pop-ups with community engagement. International Journal of E-Planning Research, 6(3), 19-41. [More Information]
  • Fredericks, J., Tomitsch, M. (2017). Designing for self-representation: Selfies, engagement and situated technologies. 29th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (OZCHI 2017), : SPIE. [More Information]
  • Davis, H., Hespanhol, L., Farmer, J., Fredericks, J., Caldwell, G., Hoggenmueller, M. (2017). Designing participation for the digital fringe. 8th International Conference on Communities and Technologies: Technologies for the Common Good (C&T '17), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]

2016

  • Fredericks, J., Caldwell, G., Tomitsch, M. (2016). Middle-out design: collaborative community engagement in urban HCI. 28th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction (OzCHI 2016), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
  • Fredericks, J., Hespanhol, L., Tomitsch, M. (2016). Not just pretty lights: using digital technologies to inform city making. 3rd Media Architecture Biennale Conference (MAB 2016), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
  • Hespanhol, L., Tomitsch, M., McArthur, I., Fredericks, J., Schroeter, R., Foth, M. (2016). Situated interfaces for engaging citizens on the go. Interactions, 23(1), 40-45. [More Information]

2015

  • Fredericks, J., Tomitsch, M., Hespanhol, L., McArthur, I. (2015). Digital Pop-Up: Investigating Bespoke Community Engagement in Public Spaces. The 27th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction (OzCHI 2015), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
  • Fredericks, J., Cochrane, K. (2015). Traditional consultation is dead. Water, 42(6).
  • Hespanhol, L., Tomitsch, M., McArthur, I., Fredericks, J., Schroeter, R., Foth, M. (2015). Vote as you go: Blending interfaces for community engagement into the urban space. 7th International Conference on Communities and Technologies (C&T 2015), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]

2013

  • Fredericks, J., Foth, M. (2013). Augmenting public participation: enhancing planning outcomes through the use of social media and web 2.0. Australian Planner, 50(3), 244-256. [More Information]

Selected Grants

2024

  • Advancing Crisis Resilience in Southeast Asia Through Immersive Technologies and AI Supported Community Engagement, Fredericks J, Yoo S, Parker C, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre/SSEAC Incubator Program