Global synergy for local change – climate games as a bridge for international cooperation
Revitalising urban spaces and sustainability are the keys to the future
New York
The team representing the CoAdapt project with the Urban System Lab in New York tested the game ‘Osiedle z Klimatem’. The event aimed to share experiences with Urban System Lab, which, like CoAdapt, works on a game of EKOS. The researchers, led by Timon McPhearson, were enthusiastic about changing the Warsaw residential areas using the solutions introduced by the game.
Philadelphia
In Philadelphia, at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the best in the world (Ivy League member), a team led by dr hab. Agata Cieszewska, representing the CoAdapt project conducted another test of the ‘osiedle z Klimatem’ game. The team worked with landscape architecture students of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Mr. Billy Fleming, head of the Ian McHarg Center conducted the meeting. Students played a board game version and then a computer game, discussing the involvement of communities in pro-adaptation activities. It turned out that a bottom-up approach prevails in the USA, whereas the top-down approach is common in Europe. The cooperation signifies the next phase of the activities connected with landscape architecture and environmental planning, as scientists from SGGW have been cooperating with Professor Frederick Steiner for more than 40 years. The #SGGW graduate, #AnnaOstrowskaSteiner – Prof. Steiner’s wife, Gabriela Maksymiuk Kasper Jakubowski Magdalena Wojnowska-Heciak – have contributed to this cooperation.
Olin Studio
Researchers from the Department of Landscape Architecture, Institute of Environmental Engineering, SGGW, as part of their work on the project ‘CoAdapt – Community activities for climate change adaptation’, visited the largest landscape architecture design studio in Philadelphia, the Olin Studio. The meeting was initiated by Rebecca Popowski, who teaches at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania and works as a designer at one of the most prestigious studios in the US. The participants discussed the possibility of introducing experimental solutions for NBS (nature-based solutions) applied to climate change adaptation in cities and the Philadelphia experience of its famous green streets. The spacious office was full of catalogues, rocks, a library and a model-making workshop.
Co-Adapt is a community project
The designed computer and board games were tested in Warsaw residential areas. It aimed to raise the awareness of local communities about climate change and, through the presentation of possible actions, to educate about the adaptation of urban spaces. Maps of selected housing estates with environmental data such as temperature, rainfall and pollution will be included in the game. The game will allow players to explore future scenarios and attempt certain actions to adapt their surroundings to climate change, such as establishing a rain garden to retain rainwater during heavy rains, installing solar panels to reduce the reliance on fossil fuel, and planting trees to reduce the urban heat island. ‘The Environmental Game Design Playbook’ was an inspiration source.