Playful Planning: Citizens making sense of transit systems and impacts

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Transit planning simulation games have been used to determine drivers' reaction to route guidance advice, analyse the interplay between rail transport and urban development and discover the value of cooperative planning in the land use and transportation development process. In contrast, no attempts have been found in using transit planning simulation games to engage citizens to understand the factors and barriers of sustainable transportation. Currently, town-hall meetings and Internet surveys are typically the tools that policymakers and planning officials use to interact or engage with the public, and the percentage of the public that participates in these civic experiences is very small. The Black Arcs (TBA) anticipates civic engagement as a key component to the planning process in the future. The problem TBA is currently facing is due to the difficulty of having citizens connecting to planning and understanding how it affects their lives each day. This problem is aggravated by the difficulty in comprehending and modelling of both supply and demand sides of transportation systems, including their interactions on spatial networks. With its inherent elements of collaboration, competition, reward and fun, TBA expects that game play will add additional motivational factors that could entice people to participate in an integrated and participatory land use-transportation planning processes. This research project aims to develop a simulation model and technology to specifically provide easy-to-access information on transit options, incentivise the use of transit, and explore transport adaptive capacity. The "video-game" format will provide a new type of "scenario exchange" between different stakeholders and communicate fundamental trade-offs such as how transit impacts things like community walkability, traffic and GHG emissions.