Current Research Trends in Games for Public Participation in Planning

Viktorija Prilenska

doi:10.2478/aup-2019-0016

Abstract

Abstract The research, outlined in the paper, explores games as methods for better public participation in planning. Drawing on the thematic analysis of scientific publications, prominent authors and research centres, as well as key research themes, are identified. The themes include motivational aspects of gamified participation, online and pervasive games for massive civic engagement, deliberative and educational games for collective problem-solving, game co-design for questioning and reframing planning concepts. The paper concludes with the benefits of gamification for participatory planning practice.

Highlights

The ideas of public participation in planning decisions emerged in the 1960s and since have been gradually institutionalized [1], [2]
Some contributions build on applications of well-known commercial games (e.g. SimCity, Minecraft and Pokémon Go), whereas others reflect upon the experiments with non-commercial games developed for participatory purposes (e.g. Community PlanIt, Play [Location], Community Circles) [5], [16]–[20]
The literature review focuses on publications about non-commercial games, which were developed for participatory purposes

Summary

Introduction

The ideas of public participation in planning decisions emerged in the 1960s and since have been gradually institutionalized [1], [2]. South American and African countries feature some prominent participatory planning examples [1], [4], [5], while some Western countries, which pioneered and developed participatory ideas, are struggling with the decreasing public interest towards participation [6]–[8]. The latter is, arguably, due to the rigidity and complexity of Western planning systems and the inefficiency of traditional civic engagement methods, such as public display [3], [9]–[11]. In the current article serious games, developed for participatory purposes, are referred to as “participatory games”

Methods

Results

Conclusion