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

Authors: Margarita Angelidou; Artemis Psaltoglou

Addresses: Urban and Regional Innovation Research (URENIO), Faculty of Planning and Development Engineering, School of Engineering, Aristotle University Campus, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece ' Urban and Regional Innovation Research (URENIO), Faculty of Planning and Development Engineering, School of Engineering, Aristotle University Campus, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece

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.

Keywords: social innovation; spatial planning; community engagement; citizen participation; smart cities.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2019.098807

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2019 Vol.11 No.1, pp.5 - 22

Received: 15 Dec 2017
Accepted: 23 May 2018
Published online: 02 Apr 2019 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article