Exploring the awareness of the concept of urban cooling through serious gaming; A case study of the serious game RESORTES in Paramaribo

By Leonie van Bergeijk

Abstract
In an increasingly urbanized world, climate change is putting growing pressure on urban living conditions (Hagen et al., 2022; Moreno-Monroy et al., 2020). As an effect of global warming, cities are getting noticeably warmer due to extreme heatwaves, rising temperatures, and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect(Deilami et al., 2018; McCarthy et al., 2010). To create cooler and more climate-resilient cities, Urban Green Spaces (UGS) have been proposed as one of the solutions to mitigate the challenges of rising urban heat (Blessing Aibhamen Edeigba et al., 2024; Wong et al., 2021). However, most research on urban cooling by UGS has been focused on temperate climates, giving limited attention to tropical zones (Bowler et al., 2010). To effectively address urban cooling challenges in tropical cities more region-specific knowledge is needed. Additionally, high awareness levels and community engagement on urban cooling are crucial, as the success of urban cooling implementations depends on a diverse understanding, active involvement, and broad support from local inhabitants (Dobbs et al., 2019).
As a result, this study aims to raise awareness of urban cooling through serious gaming, thereby addressing the knowledge gap of urban cooling by UGS in tropical regions. Serious gaming was used, as it has proven to be an effective tool for raising awareness via collaborative learning (Abt, 1970; Schuller et al., 2013; Speelman et al., 2014). This study presents a case in which the RESORTES serious game was adapted to the tropical urban context of Paramaribo.
The findings in this study demonstrate that serious gaming can effectively raise awareness of urban cooling in tropical climates. A shift in awareness levels was measured via the Q method, with 66% of all participants showing different perspectives before and after the game. All game groups reported an increase in understanding of UGS, urban heat, and cooling by vegetation after gameplay. The rise of awareness can be explained by experiential learning through active participation, discussion, and reflection. Although different levels of engagement with the game were observed, no clear correlation between engagement and the increase in awareness could be concluded. Nevertheless, these results underscore the potential of serious gaming as an effective tool for raising awareness of urban cooling in tropical climates.