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USING MINECRAFT FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTIN PUBLIC SPACE DESIGN

Pontus WesterbergDigital Projects OfficerUN-Habitat@pontusw

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UN-Habitat is the UN agency for sustainable urban development

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Urbanization trends 1950-2050

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Cities will grow by 2.5 billion people by 2050

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Public spaces are crucial for thefunctioning of citiesEncourages social inclusion and diversity

Improves urban safety

Provides space for democracy and good governance

Improves health and well-being

Creates positive environmental benefits

Provides space for businesses such as markets

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Premise:

A ratio of 50% of public space is common is successful cities.

Manhattan, Barcelona, and Brussels have up to 35% of city area allocated to street space and an additional 15% for

other public uses.

Street network ending in broad boulevards in Barcelona © http://www.airpano.com/Photogallery-Photo.php?author=11&photo=494

Well-planned cities have 50% of the area dedicated to public space

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Nairobi has 18% public space

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Construction of public spaces and development of city-wide public space strategies

Partners network on public space

Knowledge sharing, advocacy and communications

UN-Habitat’s Global Public Space Programme:

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Benefits of participatory planning

•Makes decision making more democratic by giving citizens a voice and influence.•Can help reduce conflict by giving people ownership of plans. •Can result in designs that are better and more relevant to the people who will use the space.•Can make spaces more sustainable by involving citizens in maintenance and upkeep.

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What is Minecraft?

•One of the world’s most popular computer games•100 million players worldwide•Players place different coloured blocks - sort of like a “digital Lego” - in an infinite world•Players often work together in multiplayer mode online to build fantastic structures – buildings, cities, worlds•Or they compete on servers in ‘hunger games’, parkour etc•Increasingly used for education and urban planning

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How it works

1. Google maps, plans and images are used to give an impression of the public space.

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How it works

2. Using the material a digital version of the public space is created in Minecraft.

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How it works

3. In workshops, participants visualize their own ideas of improving the space.

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How it works

4. New physical elements can be easily added to the Minecraft models.

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How it works

5. Participants present their Minecraft work to project stakeholders

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How it works

6. Services are ranked and work is prioritized based on the discussions.

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How it works

7. The Minecraft models are used to inspire architectural designs

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How it works

7. The Minecraft models are used to inspire architectural designs

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How it works

8. The spaces are built

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How it works

8. The spaces are built

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UN-Habitat public space Minecraft projects

Kenya

Nepal

NigeriaHaiti

Somalia

Philippines

Mexico

PeruSolomon Islands

Bangladesh

Kosovo

South Africa

India

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Urban waterfront project in Les Cayes, the third largestcity in Haiti

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New street lighting, sports facilities and public toilets

Before

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New street lighting, sports facilities and public toilets

After

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New jetties and resting places at Porte de la pêche

Before

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New jetties and resting places at Porte de la pêche

After

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Villa el Salvador, an informal settlement in Lima, Peru

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Villa el Salvador, an informal settlement in Lima, Peru

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Parque de Villa el Salvador, Lima, Peru

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Parque de Villa el Salvador, Lima, Peru

After

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Solar Park, Khulna, Bangladesh

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Benefits of using Minecraft for community participation

Changes relationship between ‘ordinary’ people and professionals such as architects and urban plannersThree-dimensional models are easier to understand than traditional architectural drawingsParticipants work together building and improving the modelsParticipants are able to easily build and explore their built environment by placing Minecraft blocksEngages young people – normally a hard-to-reach group

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THANK YOUwww.blockbyblock.org

www.unhabitat.org

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