Social innovation, games and urban planning: An analysis of current approaches

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between social innovation and urban planning, analysing how gaming approaches can support a more collaborative and inclusive process of urban planning. Building on the growing body of literature at the intersection of gaming and urban planning, we examine how various aims and characteristics of social innovation have been incorporated in four different projects related to urban planning: Block by Block, CityScope, What is FAR and Game of Urban Renewal. The findings suggest that a gaming approach can help participants ‘decode’ urban planning. We also find that the level of participant empowerment may vary significantly. The added value of the gaming approach lies with the increased capability to attract and retain participants’ interest and the ability to communicate and assess ideas in a direct manner. Altogether, gaming approaches for collaborative process of urban planning appear very promising and open new horizons for exploration.