Location-based AR for Social Justice: Case Studies, Lessons, and Open Challenges

Abstract

Dear Visitor and Charleston Reconstructed were location-based augmented reality (AR) experiences created between 2018 and 2020 dealing with two controversial monument sites in the US. The projects were motivated by the ability of AR to 1) link layers of context to physical sites in ways that are otherwise difficult or impossible and 2) to visualize changes to physical spaces, potentially inspiring changes to the spaces themselves. We discuss the projects' motivations, designs, and deployments. We reflect on how physical changes to the projects' respective sites radically altered their outcomes, and we describe lessons for future work in location-based AR, particularly for projects in contested spaces.