SpringerLink
Log in

Learning Urban Sustainability by Playing

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2023 Workshops (ICCSA 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14108))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 440 Accesses

Abstract

Sustainability and the concept of sustainable development are currently adopted as a founding paradigm of global, national and regional development strategies. As such, they necessarily permeate new visions of urban development as well, leading to reflections of economic, environmental and social sustainability in urban planning and design practices. In this context, the paper aims to reflect on the capability and usefulness of Serious Games in conveying knowledge with respect to the development of sustainable cities to students, as future planners and architects in urban areas. Such games are part of the several participatory approaches and models of urban innovation and planning and have an explicitly educational purpose with respect to tackling complex problems. Given their increasing application in the field of sustainability, but their limited use in the context of sustainable cities, this paper explores two serious games (Urbax and urbEN), developed in urban and territorial settings within two different European projects, to reflect on their potential capability to convey specific ways of action and knowledge with respect to the issues considered in Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) of Agenda 2030. The analysis allows observing that although the two games were not initially designed to align with specific SDG11 targets or convey information on sustainable cities, both demonstrate the potential capability in spreading specific knowledge for urban sustainability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
EUR 29.95
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
EUR 93.08
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
EUR 117.69
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Rittel, H.W.J., Webber, M.M.: Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sci. 4, 155 (1973)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lami, I.M.: The context of urban renewals as a ‘Super-Wicked’ problem. In: Calabrò, F., Della Spina, L., Bevilacqua, C. (eds.) ISHT 2018. SIST, vol. 100, pp. 249–255. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92099-3_29

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  3. United Nations General Assembly: Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, 2015. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_RES_70_1_E.pdf. Accessed 16 Mar 2023

  4. European Commission: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the regions. The European Green Deal. (2019). https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/european-green-deal-communication_en.pdf. Accessed 23 Mar 2023

  5. MATTM: Strategia Nazionale per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile, Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, 2017. https://www.regione.piemonte.it/web/sites/default/files/media/documenti/2020-6/ssweb_snsvs_ottobre2017.pdf. Accessed 20 Mar 2023

  6. PNRR: Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (2021). https://www.governo.it/sites/governo.it/files/PNRR.pdf. Accessed 20 Mar 2023

  7. Lami I.M., Abastante F., Gaballo M., Mecca B., Todella E.: An updated picture of target 11.1 and 11.3: Pathways of implementation in the light of Covid-19. AIP Conference Proceedings, 2574, 120004, (2022) https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0105557

  8. Cravero, S., Strada, F., Lami, I.M., Bottino, A.: Learning sustainability by making games. the experience of a challenge as a novel approach for Education for Sustainable Development. International Conference on Higher Education Advances Open Access Pages 651 - 6592021 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances, HEAd (2021) Virtual, Online22 June 2021through 23 June 2021Code 178646

    Google Scholar 

  9. Wilkinson, P.: A brief history of serious games. In: Dörner, R., Göbel, S., Kickmeier-Rust, M., Masuch, M., Zweig, K. (eds.) Entertainment Computing and Serious Games. LNCS, vol. 9970, pp. 17–41. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46152-6_2

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  10. Ouariachi, T., Olvera-Lobo, M.D., Gutiérrez-Pérez, J.: Serious Games and Sustainability. In: Filho, W.L. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education, pp. 1450–1458. Springer International Publishing, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11352-0_326

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  11. ABT, C. C.: Serious Game, The Viking Press, New York, (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Gee, J.: What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Comput. Entertainment (CIE) 1(1), 20 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Gentile, D.A.: The multiple dimensions of video game effects. Child Dev. Perspectives 5, 75–81 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mouahebh, H., Fahli, A., Moussetadm, M., Eljamali, S.: The serious game: what educational benefits?. Procedia Soc. Behavioral Sci. 46, 5502–5508 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Cravero, V.: Methods, strategies and tools to improve citizens’ engagement in the smart cities’ context: a serious Games classification. Valori e Valutazioni 24, 45–60 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Lami, I.M. (ed.): An Overview on Planning Systems and Urban Markets in Europe. Aracne (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Viitanen, K., Mierzejewska, M.: Playing the Urbax Game with students – Finnish Experiences. In: Lami, I.M. (ed.): An Overview on Planning Systems and Urban Markets in Europe. Aracne (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Urbax21. http://www.urbax.eu/en/home/. Accessed 24 Mar 2023

  19. Fubini, A.: Urbax: a planning practice teaching tool. In: Lami, I.M. (ed.): An Overview on Planning Systems and Urban Markets in Europe. Aracne (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Lotus - Locally Organized Transitions for Urban Sustainable Spaces. https://lotus-transition.eu/. Accessed 04 Apr 2023

  21. International Energy Agency (IEA): Energy Technology Perspectives 2020. (2020). https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-technology-perspectives-2020. Accessed 24 Mar 2023

  22. Kern, F., Bulkeley, H.: Cities, europeanization and multi-level governance: governing climate change through transnational municipal networks. J. Common Market Stud. 47(2), 309–332 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Bulkeley, H., Castán Broto, V.: Government by experiment? Global cities and the governing of climate change. Trans. Inst. Br. Geogr. 38(3), 361–375 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Schmid, S., Knapp, S., Droege, P.: Urban energy transitions: Places, processes and politics of socio-technical change. Routledge (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Lami, I.M., Todella, E.: Locally organized transitions for urban sustainable spaces. In: Locally Organized Transitions for Urban Sustainable Spaces. vol. 1, pp. 262 (2022)https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7500720

  26. Bulkeley, H.: Cities and the governing of climate change. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 35, 229–253 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Kates, R.W., Travis, W.R., Wilbanks, T.J.: Transformational adaptation when incremental adaptations to climate change are insufficient. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 109(19), 7156–7161 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. United Nations General Assembly: Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nation, New York (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Abastante, F., Lami, I.M., Mecca, B.: How Covid-19 influences the 2030 agenda: do the practices of achieving the sustainable development goal 11 need rethinking and adjustment? Valori e Valu/tazioni 26, 11–23 (2020). https://doi.org/10.48264/VVSIEV-20202603

  30. United Nations: Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2022). https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/Global%20Indicator%20Framework%20after%202022%20refinement_Eng.pdf. Accessed 20 Mar 2023

  31. Mecca, B., Gaballo, M., Todella, E.: Measuring and evaluating Urban sustainability. Valori e Valutazioni 32, 17–29 (2023)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Print&Play Urban Energy Serious Game urbEN. https://zenodo.org/record/7411604#.ZB2zOXbMJPa. Accessed 24 Mar 2023

  33. Lami, I.M., Abastante, F., Gaballo, M., Mecca, B., Todella, E.: Fostering sustainable cities through additional SDG11-related indicators. Valori e Valutazioni 32, 45–61 (2023)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico di Torino, Viale Mattioli 39, 10125, Turin, Italy

    Isabella M. Lami, Francesca Abastante, Marika Gaballo, Beatrice Mecca & Elena Todella

Authors
  1. Isabella M. Lami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Francesca Abastante
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marika Gaballo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Beatrice Mecca
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Elena Todella
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Beatrice Mecca .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Osvaldo Gervasi

  2. University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy

    Beniamino Murgante

  3. University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Ana Maria A. C. Rocha

  4. University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Chiara Garau

  5. University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy

    Francesco Scorza

  6. University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Yeliz Karaca

  7. Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Carmelo M. Torre

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Lami, I.M., Abastante, F., Gaballo, M., Mecca, B., Todella, E. (2023). Learning Urban Sustainability by Playing. In: Gervasi, O., et al. Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2023 Workshops. ICCSA 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14108. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37117-2_32

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37117-2_32

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-37116-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-37117-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation