This was presented by Pontus Westerberg from UN-Habitat at the Impacts of Civic Technology Conference (TICTeC2016) in Barcelona on 27th April. You can find out more information about the conference here: https://www.mysociety.org/research/tictec-2016/

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USING MINECRAFT
OR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
N PUBLIC SPACE DESIGN
ontus Westerberg
gital Projects Officer
N-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 the
functioning of cities
Encourages 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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+
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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
Nigeria
Haiti
Somalia
Philippines
Mexico
Peru
Solomon Islands
Bangladesh
Kosovo
South Africa
India

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Urban waterfront project in
Les Cayes, the third largest
city 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
Before

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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 planners
Three-dimensional models are easier to
understand than traditional architectural
drawings
Participants work together building and
improving the models
Participants are able to easily build and
explore their built environment by placing
Minecraft blocks
Engages young people – normally a hard-to-
reach group

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THANK YOU
www.blockbyblock.org
www.unhabitat.org