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Description
The goal of this project is to develop an integration toolkit to support resiliency and citizen engagement in city-communities, empowering them in responding to new climate change challenges with
bottom up involvement. To fulfill this goal a workshop which include a specially designed strategic computer game will be developed and applied. Strategy games are currently considered as one of
the most effective educational tools in climate change action methods. The proposed game will feature simulations that allow local community to transform their neighborhood into more resilient to
the climate change. The game will be adapted to local environmental and spatial conditions and will explore various choices (e.g. pro-adaptative actions) and consequences, as well as stimulate
higher motivation for participation in climate change transformation. The projects’ workshop toolkit will integrate best practices collected from communities that are already involved in climate
change actions. This knowledge and experience will be incorporated into the process of co-design of the game with highly motivated communities that mitigate of so-called motivational gap. The
workshop toolkit besides the game will include collection of methods stimulating motivation for adaptative action in local communities. The pilot project will then be carried out for six communities in Warsaw diversified in relation to exposure to climate change, urban structure and socioeconomic factors. As an outcome of the gaming workshop each tested community will be engaged in the
planning of an adaptation design in their neighborhood. Developed the workshop method including the game will be available in an open access toolkit offered to communities for engaging citizens in co-producing changes within their local communities also in other cities in the world. The outcome will be computer game encourage social engagement, workshop toolkit with developed methods of public engagement and scientific publications.
Summary of project results
We live in an era of climate change, and the threats to city dwellers are real: heat waves, floods, and loss of biodiversity. Actions on a global scale are beyond the reach of each of us. The CoAdapt project responds to the challenge of ‘thinking globally, acting locally’ in adapting to climate change.
The project included the design and implementation of a simulation game, "Neighborhood with Climate," which helps in making decisions on how to adapt a housing estate to climate change. This serious game motivates residents to change the development of their surroundings and gives a real chance to improve the environment in their place of residence to minimize the negative effects of climate change, from solutions to improve the microclimate to rainwater management. Residents learn about nature-based solutions, and the game, through detailed parameterization of individual solutions, such as a large tree or a rain garden, enables verification of the effectiveness of these solutions in a specific place. It allows you to check whether you have reduced the temperature, improved air quality, and how much rainwater has been captured. We tested the game in five housing estates in Warsaw, where the residents not only proposed solutions to improve environmental conditions but also implemented them.
The game "Neighborhood with Climate," available at www.coadapt.pl, is offered in both board and computer versions, including a phone application, with the playing field being a housing estate indicated by the player. This makes it unique compared to other pro-climate games. A board game allows residents to initiate discussions, while a computer game allows for verification of the solutions used, clearly visible on a 3D model of their own housing estate. The game is available in Polish and English and can be played throughout Poland. We hope that this welldesigned tool—the game—will contribute to increasing environmental awareness and, consequently, improve the quality of life for residents not only in their estate but also in the entire city. Tests among various user groups, including students, local community leaders, and officials, indicate great educational potential. The game was tested not only in Poland but also in Norway and the USA, where it was received with great interest. Currently, there are plans to use the game as part of the participatory budget in Warsaw, as well as to introduce the game to a streaming platform.
The project contributed to the carrier development of female researchers. In the project out of 49 scientists in the Polish-Norwegian team, 39 were women and as many as 13 went abroad for research, expanding their academic perspectives and advancing careers.
Summary of bilateral results
Cooperation with Norwegian partners is, above all, an opportunity for better mutual learning. At CoAdapt, we represented different fields of knowledge and had diverse experiences, yet we understood each other very well. This resulted in a very effective proactive synergy, meaning the integrated achievement of common goals in the project through mutual support and the use of complementary resources, skills, and abilities.Norwegian partners represent more theoretical fields, while Polish partners are primarily practitioners implementing pro-adaptive nature-based solutions (NBS). This cooperation had a complementary dimension, combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience, which allowed for a more comprehensive approach to the issue of adaptation to climate change.Bilateral cooperation led to the acceptance of a research proposal by the funding organization DUT - Driving Urban Transitions, which organizes transformational co-production laboratories to integrate Nature-Based Solutions in Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Norway. Participating institutions include WNRI and SGGW. The second project is the expansion of CoAdapt with a researcher from Ukraine in the CoAdapt+UA project.