Expertise
City Gaming
City gaming method informs urban plans and supports participation processes. By engaging multiple parties in meaningful and playful conversations, city gaming makes complicated policy documents and data accessible. For every new game question, generic datasets are tailored with local datasets. 3D game units are designed as a modular system and work together with the game board with selected and visualized data.
City Gaming is supported with Network of Games, a tool that is powered with data models such as the energy transition model of Quintel, and others in line with digitized datasets of water, energy, mobility, housing, public space, local economy, food, materials and waste.
CityLabs
Since 2015, we have been supporting CityLabs [Living Labs] through the City Gaming Method; city game sessions acting as the backbone of a local development process. Games help to record initiatives and bring them closer to action by finding new partners and linking them to available sources. The Stadslab Buiksloterham in Amsterdam has been hosting numerous game sessions since 2015. Similarly, CityLab Mersin, organized in close collaboration with Mersin University in Turkey, acts as a platform bringing engaged stakeholders through regular city game sessions since 2018.
Climate Adaptation
Countries loyal to The Paris Agreement, are developing policies to transform their cities toward a climate-neutral future. Accordingly, structural changes in our heat and energy system are taking place, away from fossil energy carriers. Additionally, cities seek ways to become greener and commute smarter. The stacking of these new tasks creates a huge spatial challenge for the existing urban areas, both above and below ground. Without an integrated strategy, it simply will not work. We developed Klimaatspel based on the request of the Municipality of Amsterdam as an integral plan-informing platform. Game sessions include the voices of its residents; both homeowners as well as renters.
Digital urbanism
Play the City team regularly participates in scientific research partnerships with distinct universities, EU projects and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research [NWO]. We also self-initiate research regularly supported by the Stimuleringsfonds Creative Industries [SCI]. Games for Cities is a fine example of a survey exploring the growing practice of gaming for complex challenges with a focus on cities. Why do more designers create games for dealing with climate change, affordable housing or migration? Which game interfaces deliver on the promised impact? On this project's website, you will also find an actual database of city games worldwide.
Omgevingswet
Seen as the largest legislative operation in the history of the Dutch Planning, ‘Omgevingswet’ is expected to take effect in 2021, a systemic change calling all engaged parties to collaborate. We support experts and non-experts to exchange effectively and reach common actions since 2009. Fusing our experiences with the new conditions brought by the Omgevingswet, our team has developed a new multiplayer tabletop game to train the Dutch spatial planning professionals. Stakeholders gather around the game table to negotiate a final ‘Ontwerp Omgevingsplan’ including the provincial and local governments, private developers, businesses, citizen groups, GGD, safety services, energy and water bodies. The game simulates an alternative decision model where 'general rules', 'reporting obligation' or 'permit obligation' helps participants on desired developments.