Planning for sustainable development: a simulation game

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the planning for sustainable development simulation game, developed to stimulate creativity and dialogue to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). The simulation game is targeted at practitioners and students in the field of planning, although it can be adapted to different contexts. The simulation game consists of four card decks (context, SDGs, implementation tools, and events) from which the players draw cards that will frame their storytelling and group debriefing. The article describes how the simulation game was played in a class of undergraduates taking a development and sustainability course. There were 56 students divided into 14 groups, each with four participants. Evaluations conducted with the participants indicated the potential of the simulation game for environmental education. It appeared to enhance the ability of the participants to articulate different aspects of sustainability in hypothetical applied scenarios, while stimulating innovative attitudes and critical evaluation based on social interactions.

Keywords:

• Environmental education
• sustainable development
• serious games
• simulation games
• sustainable development goals

Notes

1 Acronym of “socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization” (Nonaka et al., 2000).

2 Available at: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/student-resources/, accessed on November 19, 2020.

3 Such as https://games4sustainability.org/, accessed on November 19, 2020.