Sustainable decision-making game for the next generation of smart citizens

Abstract

Cities are increasingly facing the consequences of climate change, it is therefore urgent to take actions to reach the targets set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. By 2050, 70% of the world population will live in cities, engaging citizens in the sustainable transformation of the built environment is crucial. Moreover, children and youth require specific attention to secure their active participation in the process. ByMaker is a serious game developed to facilitate the participation of children and youth in sustainable urban transformation. The objective of ByMaker is to improve the knowledge about sustainability and raise awareness on the importance of making balanced decisions. While the environmental dimension is already well covered and assimilated by children and youth, the social and economic ones remain more challenging to understand. The method uses a 3D map of the concrete city, interactive elements of popular landmarks and friendly characters of local historical figures. The players are invited to experiment multiple combination of choices corresponding to different scenarios of urban development such as road and transportation, urban nature, residential buildings and public space. The impact of their decisions on the overall sustainability of their city is presented as visual feedback. Scenarios in the game focus on the realization of SDGs’ ambitions and objectives. The vision is both mid-term oriented, addressing the climate urgency and long-term focused to anticipate future needs. Furthermore, ByMaker presents innovative technological solutions to play with. The game was tested in three classes in primary schools in Trondheim, Norway. The feedback guided the further development and improvements such as better visualization, interaction features and simplified scenario descriptions. By playing with ByMaker, children succeeded to learn, experiment, and create their sustainable city.

Sustainable decision-making game for the next generation of smart citizens