Abstract Summary
The world is facing multiple challenges, e.g. housing crises, climate change, road safety and social inclusion. Mobility, an important aspect of these challenges, can be part of the problem yet has the potential to be part of the solution. Governments play an important role in developing mobility systems on various scales. A mobility system can support different ambitions including effective mobility, efficient city, economy, environment & health and equity – known as the 5E framework (Van Oort et al, 2017). In our Serious Game: The Optimal Mix, our players – typically policy makers, planners and politicians - design a mobility and planning system for the future. They use the 5E framework, as well as the TRAIL layer model to understand a mobility system’s underlying components (Van Nes, 2002). In line with serious game design thinking, there are three elements: a briefing, the actual game and a debrief. In the briefing, a realistic case study tailored for the teams is introduced. Next, in multiple rounds, teams of 4-6 people use the Mobility Mix card game to design an optimal mix of modes and policies, in line with their ambitions. The players gain insights and discuss ambitions of a mobility system as well as the means and trade-offs to reach it. At the moment, the game is being improved in cocreation with various governmental partners and has been played a dozen times both in the Netherlands and abroad. Also a paper is in review on findings from the first 5 game editions is under review for an academic journal. We like to do a workshop with participants of the AMS conference to support knowledge sharing and ideation for more optimal mobility mixes. The game is designed for professionals with (some) experience in the realm of city planning or mobility, but teams can also be mixed with students or engaged citizens.
