15 January 2018

The Research Group in Technology Enhanced Learning of La Salle carries out an educational innovation project in the urban space

The Research Group in Technology Enhanced Learning (GRETEL) of La Salle, with the participation of students of Architecture, Multimedia Engineering and Computer Engineering of La Salle Campus Barcelona-URL, is developing EduGameCity an educational innovation project focused on the urban space, financed by the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

In particular, the project is part of the project coordinated with the UPC GAME4CITY and its main objective is to improve architectural teaching, as well as improve the competence of architecture students.

The members of the research group, together with the students, are making the gamified design and implementation for 3D visualization with virtual reality systems and augmented real cases of the city of Barcelona, ​​such as superblocks, and carry out the study of the improvement of motivational, social and spatial competences of the user. In this particular case, the new uses of the restructuring of the superblock of Consejo de Ciento / Count Borrell / Calabria / Rocafort are being analyzed. The group has developed a new visualization platform that, through the use of virtual reality glasses and controls, allows interacting with the space and the urban elements designed, seeing how the activities that can be carried out affect the lived space.

It is expected that later, the interactive proposals will be transferred to the citizens, so that they can participate in urban restructuring projects. In this way, the project gives them the opportunity to choose the public urban space they want to have, according to their criteria and in a collaborative way, configuring elements such as playgrounds, urban gardens, vegetation, lighting, recreational and cultural activities, among others. .

The gamification in the field of urban design, through elements of virtual reality, offers a double opportunity: on the one hand, it generates an improvement in citizen participation due to its dynamic, real and agile nature, breaking the digital divide with the citizen; on the other, it allows students to learn and make important and applicable decisions in different areas of knowledge.

EduGameCity is a transversal project; not only by the involvement of students of degrees and master's degrees from different areas (engineering and architecture), but also by the interest shown by the administrations to be able to explain to their citizens, in a visual and interactive way, how they can change an area and that can give your opinion.

 

Thanks

This research is funded by the State Program for Research, Development and Innovation Oriented to the Challenges of Society, within the framework of the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013-2016, under the references BIA2016-77464-C2-1 -R (Gamification for the teaching of urban design and the integration in it of citizen participation, ArchGAME4CITY) and BIA2016-77464-C2-2-R (Gamified 3D visualization design with virtual reality systems for the study of the improvement of motivational, social and spatial competences of the user (EduGAME4CITY). (AEI / FEDER, UE).