New Planning Games Focuses on Consensus Building

Jennifer Hattam shares news of a game called Imaginable Guidelines, created by Istanbul-based architect Alexis Şanal, to "help urban communities plan for the future."

Imaginable Guidelines uses a deck of 101 colorful, oversized cards, each illustrated by an artist to represent one aspect of urban design, "ranging from 'street vendors' to 'sidewalk dimensions,' to give players a shared vocabulary and base of knowledge with which to talk about their city," explains Hattam.

"During the consensus-building gameplay, participants each decide which topics are necessary, desirable, or irrelevant to the urban design problem they’re trying to solve in their community. The selected cards form the basis for a custom set of guidelines with which to move forward in the planning process."

Hattam cites other planning game makers to discuss the power of Imaginable Guidelines in building consensus toward a vision for the future.