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Academic ResearchMonths of work

euPOLIS Game

academic-research · Piraeus (Greece) and Gladsaxe (Denmark). EU Horizon project · 2021-2025; key MDPI Smart Cities paper 2025; demoed at TNOC Festival 2024

EU-funded Horizon project (euPOLIS) gamified VR/AR co-design tool for nature-based solutions in urban neighborhoods. Open-source GIS + Godot/Blender pipeline; demoed at TNOC 2024 with 30 architects/citizens/planners. Documented in MDPI Smart Cities, March 2025.

Areas compete

Pilot zones in Piraeus and Gladsaxe ran district-by-district sessions whose nature-based-solution scores (cooling, biodiversity, flood retention) are benchmarked between neighborhoods. A transparent inter-area comparison that funds redirected attention.

People support each other

Local citizens collaborate inside the game to place NBS interventions; the game decentralises planning by giving residents only the 'propose solutions' role while experts handle technical layers. Explicitly designed to lower barriers for elderly and non-expert residents to participate alongside their neighbours.

Why this is worth knowing

Rare EU-funded, 2024-2025-current example with open-source stack (Godot + Blender + open GIS). Mechanic generalises directly to BelongHub: each area cooperates on a co-designed proposal, areas are compared on outcome metrics.

Statuslive
Year2021-2025; key MDPI Smart Cities paper 2025; demoed at TNOC Festival 2024
WherePiraeus (Greece) and Gladsaxe (Denmark). EU Horizon project
Effort to start a local versionMonths of work
LanguageEnglish
Verificationhigh confidence
Adjacent

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