Augmented Reality as a Design Tool in Enhancing Community Engagement: A Case Study of Souq Al Muharraq

This research explores the potential of Augmented Reality (AR) as a participatory design approach to the revitalization of the historic market space, the Souq Al Muharraq in Bahrain. The research is positioned at the intersection of digital innovation and heritage preservation, investigating how AR can be used to improve the field of inclusive architecture and urban design, intersecting a range of knowledge levels between communities and professional planning. The mixed method approach made use of spatial observations, twelve semi-structured interviews, and three participatory workshops with eighteen stakeholders (locals, shopkeepers, and visitors). Printed overlays and annotated maps as analog AR simulations were deployed to receive feedback by users who had varied levels of digital literacy. Results indicate that AR-assisted approaches boosted spatial literacy and brought out culturally informed insights and allowed co-creation inclusively, especially among digitally excluded populations. The paper proposes a Smart Design Engagement Model that can bridge the gap between professional planning and lived experience of heritage sites. In the context of advancing research in participatory urbanism and smart governance of heritage, this paper is able to illustrate how low-barrier AR interfaces can be used as decision-making tools and in cultural-sensitive settings.