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Building for Real With Digital Blocks

Tina Rosenberg

October 15, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden

To get input on city design plans from citizens without any technical knowledge, some city planners are turning to Minecraft, an easy-to-use computer game that allows users to build in a three dimensional environment. Useful for planning public spaces (rather than designing a building), Minecraft has been adopted by UN Habitat to plan everything from soccer fields in Nairobi to a riverbank in Kosovo.

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This app is designed to get millennials addicted to giving

Ben Paynter

March 19, 2019 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

A new charity app called Millie builds upon tested app dynamics like online payment services, gamification, and social networks to encourage millennials to give to charities and organizations of their choosing. Rather than the more typical one-off, peer-to-peer, reactive giving, Millie adds an element of matchmaking to philanthropy, similar to dating apps.

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From video game to day job: How ‘SimCity' inspired a generation of city planners

Jessica Roy

March 05, 2019 |

Los Angeles Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

SimCity, a popular simulation game created in 1989, inspired a generation of future city planners with its ability to make urban design accessible and fun, While the simulations have their inconsistencies with real life urban planning, designers and architects around the country based their foundational understanding of city planning in these simulation games and look to simulation as tools for future planning.

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Smart Grid Experiment Saves Participants the Equivalent of One Electric Bill Per Year

Lynne Peskoe-Yang

February 04, 2019 |

IEEE Spectrum |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Turkey, Istanbul

Gamifying energy-efficient behavior can help consumers adjust their habits. Project GresBAS (Grid Responsive Society through Building Automation Systems) incentivizes consumers by allowing them to compete against their own personal records, as well as their neighbors. The Project has piloted studies in Turkey and Portugal, signaling the broader possibilities of gamifying user interactions with smart grid technologies.

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Newcastle's 'digital twin' to help city plan for disasters

Tom White

December 30, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: England, Newcastle

Thanks to technology used in "Formula One teams and engine manufacturers like Rolls Royce," Newcastle is digitally replicating the entire city in order to project potential natural disaster occurrence and population increases. In doing so, the city is able to prepare for ways to act should a disaster occur.

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Virtual Reality Helps Hospice Workers See Life And Death Through A Patient's Eyes

Kathleen Burge

December 27, 2018 |

NPR |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Biddeforde, Maine

The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine is using virtual reality to help medical students empathize with patients who are at the end of their lives. The technology has also been used to create other simulations and help health-care workers in training better understand their patients, but critics say that, without careful supervision, these virtual realities can create and reinforce prejudice.

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The city that gives you free beer for cycling

Amelia Martyn-Hemphill Nicola Kelly

October 23, 2018 |

BBC |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: Italy, Bologna

A fun app called “Bella Mossa” has incentivized people to ditch their cars in Bologna. The anti-pollution effort gives users credits for biking, walking, and using public transport. Users can then swap their credits for rewards from local shopkeepers, such as free beer and ice cream.

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"Integrity Idol"

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

October 02, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nepal

With support from Accountability Lab and Transparency International, seven countries have held “Integrity Idol” contests to recognize their most honest and helpful public servants. Winners have become people others want to emulate. The contests help fight corruption and inspire civic participation.

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'Magic table' helping dementia patients

Nick Holland

September 25, 2018 |

BBC |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

A Tovertafel, or “Magic Table” in Dutch, uses a projector and sensors to create interactive games for people with dementia. From catching fish and popping bubbles to assembling puzzles, the games reduce apathy, improve emotional wellbeing, and encourage physical movement.

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Smart Stimulation for People with Dementia

Nick Holland Tom Colls Susila Silva Claire Bates

September 25, 2018 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: England

Jelly drops, board games, and a box that projects interactive images and is sensitive to movement, are all examples if products being created to help people with dementia. “She enjoys that rather than being at home and watching T.V.” Some of them, like the “Tovertafel” or “Magic Table” have shown to decrease apathy levels in people that have dementia.

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