This thesis investigates the effects of utilising gamification and serious games as participatory tools in the urban
planning process. Typically participation today is limited to public hearings and light means of eParticipation,
often in the form of social media debates or web-based surveys or questionnaires. Public hearings are an old
concept by now, and while functional for some citizens, much of the following material points toward it being
ineffective at garnering the interest of young families and those even younger. Generation Y, accustomed to
doing things in their own time, and very well acquainted with navigating virtual worlds, may well benefit
more and be more inclined to participate through digital media; maybe even from the comforts of their own
home.
Further, virtual tools may work to increase the spatial understanding of a development in those attending,
in particular, interactive virtual tools, which is the very core of digital games. This thesis, therefore, utilises
the process behind the development of Budolfi Square in Aalborg to compare the conventional method of
citizen involvement with a gamified version. For this purpose, Minecraft is used as an example, allowing 17
interviewees to experience the planned buildings of Budolfi through Minecraft, and express how immersing
themselves into the game affects their understanding of the site.
Findings have been condensed into a folder, attached to this thesis, strongly recommending further testing
and usage of new methods in real participation settings; both to get a better understanding of the problems
and advantages this carry, but just as importantly to not fall behind the tide of gamification washing over the
world, but instead ride it.