CO-DESIGNING RURAL CYCLE LOGISTICS: DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF A SERIOUS GAME AS A PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOP METHOD

Abstract

Public participation has long been both, a legal requirement and a standard practice, in public planning across Europe. It is, however, often perceived more as a burden than a meaningful process by both, policymakers and citizens, especially in terms of motivation. Serious Games have recently been introduced as a strategy to increase public engagement.  However, developing such games typically requires months of work, making them unsuitable for many understaffed public administrations. This article investigates how a Serious Board Game can serve as a participatory research method to elicit local knowledge in rural planning. Based on the experience of developing a serious board game and using it in workshops across rural Germany, we will critically reflect the suitability of the approach for participatory planning in rural areas. To overcome the hurdle of developing a serious board game for a particular planning application, the article finally proposes a modular framework and accompanied game materials that can easily be adapted to various planning cases.