IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsoctx/v15y2025i1p14-d1568341.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Playing for the Planet? A Serious Game Approach to Land Use Planning with Students in Rural Iceland

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin D. Hennig

    (Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Ben F. Roberts

    (Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland
    Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, Postbus 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands)

  • Johannes T. Welling

    (Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Marissa Pinal

    (Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies, School of Humanities, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Jón Ólafsson

    (Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies, School of Humanities, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland)

Abstract

Effective nature conservation and citizen participation are essential for sustainable development and biodiversity preservation. This paper introduces the ‘Land Use Game’, a prototype serious game designed to engage citizens—particularly younger demographics—in participatory land use planning. Developed within the context of the EU Horizon 2020 PHOENIX project, the game was tested with students in two rural Icelandic municipalities as part of a pilot study. The game enables participants to assign land use preferences through interactive mapping, supporting a better understanding of land use complexities while promoting active learning and dialogue. The study evaluates the game’s feasibility, technological features, and practical applications, highlighting insights from gameplay observations, participant feedback, and spatial analysis. The results demonstrate the potential of serious games to collect meaningful data, support inclusive decision-making, and empower citizens to contribute to sustainable policies. By incorporating such tools, planners can enhance public understanding, promote equitable land use, and strengthen participatory democracy.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin D. Hennig & Ben F. Roberts & Johannes T. Welling & Marissa Pinal & Jón Ólafsson, 2025. "Playing for the Planet? A Serious Game Approach to Land Use Planning with Students in Rural Iceland," Societies, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:15:y:2025:i:1:p:14-:d:1568341
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/1/14/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/1/14/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:15:y:2025:i:1:p:14-:d:1568341. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.