PUBLIC HOUSING: THE “AFFORDABLE” LIVING GAME
A gamefied social tackle on a serious issue.
ROLE: DESIGNER
FOR: NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY M.ARCH
STATUS: COMPLETED
The United States is currently facing a severe affordable housing dilemma. In the past twenty years, the increase in rents has outpaced the rise in renters' incomes significantly, leading to an unprecedented number of families unable to afford suitable housing. Can a board game be used as a new presentation method and study platform for public housing and affordability crisis in the housing sector?
To achieve this, it was necessary to evoke familiarity. The format chosen is Monopoly, a game that already bases its premise on adquiring real estate to win, only in this case, it is to survive. It is also the most popular and identifiable board game in the world, which helps expediting the baseline understanding of this modified version, and potentially makes the game go viral. At the same time, the absurdity and randomness of the game represents the experience of the public housing system, where the concepts of self-design and community planning and engagement become part of the chaos and impulsiveness that characterizes a life shaped by chance, in scenarios that optimize the comprehension of affordable housing scarcity.
Board Game - Public Housing Monopoly.
The purpose of this project is to tackle social and cultural issues associated with public housing and affordability through the design of a board game, while increasing awareness, suggesting interventions, and challenging prevailing issues in a playful and provocative manner. The formal conditions and the social context of public housing are investigated through a lens of game design, exploring the interactivity of real-life affordable and social housing options around the world, and the challenges that their target users face to obtain vacancy.
Board Game - Public Housing Monopoly.