Speaker
Description
In an era of planetary crises, urban planning and design face immense challenges as cities become both contributors to and victims of climate change. Addressing these challenges requires innovative tools and frameworks, particularly within urban climate governance—a multi-level system engaging local governments, civil society, private sectors, and residents (Sarzynski, 2015; Hügel & Davies 2020). Public participation (PP) is critical to urban climate governance, fostering inclusive decision-making, enhancing social awareness, and encouraging community-driven action (Sousa et al., 2022; Schalbetter et al., 2023). Recently, serious games, designed for purposes beyond entertainment such as education and problem-solving, have emerged as promising tools for engaging the public in urban climate initiatives. These gamified systems offer interactive platforms that enhance awareness and support collaborative decision-making, aligning with urban climate governance objectives.
This study investigates the potential of climate-focused serious games as emerging tools within urban planning and design processes, specifically decoding their role in engaging public participation and improving decision-making. By analyzing serious games that simulate urban climate scenarios, the research examines how these platforms empower communities, influence policymaking, and bridge the gap between technical climate science and public understanding. It raises critical questions about the effectiveness, inclusivity, and policy relevance of serious games as participatory tools.
The research employed a four-step methodological framework combining qualitative and quantitative approaches: (1) Filtering and Sampling: From an initial pool of 170 games identified via Scopus and Games4Sustainability, 10 serious games (board and digital) were selected, including Plan It Green: Big Switch, Riskland, Landopoly, About that Forest, Play the City, Cultural Memory Game, City Council, Cities Skylines, SimCity, and Urban Climate Architect (Haahtela et al., 2015; Sharma & Pandey, 2022; Paredes & Gómez, 2023; URL). (2) Defining PP Evaluation Criteria: Using Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation (1969) as a foundation, four criteria were established for evaluating PP: Collaborative decision-making, environmental awareness, decision-making consequences, and community impact feedback. (3) Scoring System: An analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was applied to assign weightings to each criterion, guiding the evaluation of the selected games. (4) Evaluation: The games were assessed against these criteria to determine their capacity to engage diverse stakeholders.
Key findings highlighted that multiplayer serious games promoted collaborative problem-solving and encouraged dialogue among the stakeholders. Multiplayer board games like Landopoly, City Council, and Play the City, excelled in fostering collaborative decision-making, encouraging dialogue among diverse stakeholders. However, single-player digital games generally fell short in this area, offering limited opportunities for meaningful collaboration. Informative content within games significantly enhanced environmental awareness, engaging players in understanding climate challenges and solutions. Digital games with feedback mechanisms—simulating the societal impact of player decisions—proved effective in engaging participants and enhancing PP. Nevertheless, the simplification of complex socio-environmental dynamics in many game designs raised concerns about translating game-based insights into real-world decision-making.
In conclusion, this study contributes to the growing field of climate gamification by proposing a structured evaluation system for assessing public participation in serious games and highlighting their potential within urban planning and design. While serious games offer valuable opportunities for experiential learning and interactive engagement, optimising their design for greater inclusivity and real-world applicability is essential.
References
Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A Ladder of Citizen Participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224.
Haahtela, P., Vuorinen, T., Kontturi, A., Silfvast, H., Väisänen, M., & Onali, J. (2015). Cities Skylines. Gamification of education: Cities Skylines as an educational tool for real estate and land use planning studies.
Hügel, S., & Davies, A. R. (2020). Public participation, engagement, and climate change adaptation: A review of the research literature. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change.
Paredes, M., & Gómez, R. (2023). SimCity. A dynamic engagement model to provide ecological awareness of the climate crisis through video games.
Sarzynski, A. (2015). Public participation, civic capacity, and climate change adaptation in cities. Urban climate, 14, 52-67.
Schalbetter, L., Salliou, N., Sonderegger, R., & Grêt-Regamey, A. (2023). From board games to immersive urban imaginaries: Visualization fidelity's impact on stimulating discussions on urban transformation.
Sharma, P., & Pandey, S. (2022). Urban Climate Architect. Investigating the role of serious games for climate change education: A systematic review and future research directions.
Sousa, M., Antunes, A. P., Pinto, N., & Zagalo, N. (2022). Serious Games in Spatial Planning: Strengths, Limitations, and Support Frameworks. International Journal of Serious Games.
URL. Games4Sustainability. Retrieved from https://games4sustainability.org/
| Keywords | Climate governance; Public participation; Serious games; Urban climate; Urban design. |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
