How Can Games Transform Cities? Geogames as Tools for Research, Education, and Urban Praxis

Geogames have matured from an emergent field in the 2000s into a transformative intersection of game design, geographic information science, and games with a purpose. This thematic issue advances the geogames research, education, and praxis agenda through 10 articles organized into two sections. Section 1 establishes geogames as rigorous research and educational instruments, exploring their theoretical foundations, methodological applications, and pedagogical value for fostering spatial literacy and emotional engagement. Section 2 demonstrates geogames as operational tools for real‐world urban planning, showcasing their implementation in participatory consultations, communicative planning, and sustainability initiatives. These contributions frame geogames as a socio‐technical epistemology rather than mere representational or engagement tools, revealing their capacity to address complex contemporary urban challenges. By bridging virtual simulation with material intervention in games, this issue presents a unified framework for reimagining research, teaching, and the transformation of urban spaces through geogames—where the concept of Gaia (Earth as a living system) converges with gameplay—in an era marked by unprecedented spatial, environmental, and social challenges

Citizen journalism · Participatory GIS · Praxis · Transformative learning · Geographic Information Systems Studies · Geography Education and Pedagogy · Historical Geography and Geographical Thought

• Geogames

  Open Access•Alenka Poplin•Environment and Planning B Urban…•2025

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