Minecraft as a Tool for Engaging Children in Urban Planning

A Case Study in Tirol Town, Brazil

Datos Bibliográficos

ID22033671
AutoresBruno Andrade (0000-0002-1191-8082, University College Dublin, autor de correspondencia), Alenka Poplin (0000-0002-2751-9326, Iowa State University), Ìtalo Sousa de Sena (0000-0002-6500-5609, Federal University of São João del-Rei)
Año2020
Volumen9
Número3
Páginas170
Fecha de publicación2020-03-13
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2220-9964 • E-ISSN: 2220-9964
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/ijgi9030170
OpenAlexW3011852693
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas25
Referencias citadas11

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of Minecraft’s game environment for urban planning with older and younger children in a public school in Tirol town, Brazil. Minecraft is employed as an innovative tool to tackle the present lack of engagement and involvement of key societal actors such as children and young people in urban planning. Thus, how can games support children to co-design their future city? Which heritage values do they represent graphically in the game environment? Geogames are games that provide a visualization of a real spatial context and in this study, Minecraft is the tool which we use to explore youth engagement. We designed two experiments, which tested Minecraft as a geogame environment for engaging young people in urban planning. These experiments were conducted with children, who emerged as active emancipated actors to bring their values to the planning practice. The playtesting results revealed the potential of Minecraft to keep children engaged in the design workshop, as well as their relevant ludic ability to co-create walkable, green, and interactive places. New research questions arose about the potential of creating a culture of planning among children in order to motivate other social actors to share responsibilities for sustainable development and management

Civil engineering · Geography · Political science · Public engagement · Public relations · Sociology · Urban planning · Digital Storytelling and Education · Educational Games and Gamification · Engineering · Persona Design and Applications · Psychology