This event, organised by the University of Limerick and Limerick City and County Council as part of the first City Engage Week took place with two groups of participants, on two consecutive days at Fab Lab Limerick in September 2019.
The “City Energy” boardgame is about collective decision-making in the city and the roles that citizens play. It uses techniques of gamification and tests scenarios of placemaking and behavioural change for residents that share a city block. Players adapt to scenarios during the game according to personas that they choose, (Owner, Occupier, Business-Owner or Curious Citizen). Researchers from the University of Limerick, and students from the School of Architecture at UL (SAUL) developed this game, and ran events for +CityxChange in Limerick, Ireland in Sept. 2019.
The purpose of the event was to introduce concepts of shared ownership in the context of the Limerick City Georgian Neighbourhood / Demonstration Area. The event involved building owners and residents in the Limerick City Demonstration area. Through the board game, the organisers tested various scenarios of urban placemaking and planning and introduced participants to potential behavioural changes. The participants had the opportunity to inhabit the roles of other user groups addressed in the project. The event brought together people potentially interested in taking part in the Energy Champions programme or the Open Innovation Calls. The event familiarised the participants with the goals of +CityxChange, and served for promoting the use of the Citizens’ Observatory.
Trained facilitators were needed during the event to keep track of scores and explain rules. One of the conclusions was that the roles of players could be diversified and the scoring system simplified for future similar events.
