[p2p-research] Fwd: [P2P-URBANISM WA] NYU-Poly Introduces Betaville, Digital Tool to Revolutionize Public Planning

[Michel Bauwens]

hi matt,

how are you?

I was hoping that perhaps you could pen down something on this topic for the
p2p blog,

don't hesitate to offer anything else on your current activities,

Michel

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Audun Engh <audun.engh at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 5:59 AM
Subject: [P2P-URBANISM WA] NYU-Poly Introduces Betaville, Digital Tool to
Revolutionize Public Planning
To: p2p-urbanism-world-atlas at googlegroups.com



http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/urban-planning-meets-online-gaming-105433288.html

Audun Engh
Oslo, Norway

Urban Planning Meets Online Gaming
NYU-Poly Introduces Betaville, Digital Tool to Revolutionize Public Planning
 <http://photos.prnewswire.com/prn/20091027/NY99197LOGO>

Download image <http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnthumb/20091027/NY99197LOGO>

NEW YORK, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 400 urban planners, designers,
developers and architects today were invited to test and join in perfecting
an online technology that may revolutionize the way public environments are
designed and built. The program, called Betaville, was introduced at
the Municipal
Art Society's Summit for New York City <http://www.mas.org/> by Carl
Skelton<http://bxmc.poly.edu/user/carlskelton>,
assistant professor of digital media at the Polytechnic Institute of New
York University (NYU-Poly) and one of the creators of Betaville.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20091027/NY99197LOGO )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091027/NY99197LOGO )

Betaville allows all stakeholders in a development project—from architects
and builders to neighborhood residents — to participate in and influence the
end result.

By fusing the technology that drives online games such as Sim City, where
users interact in a virtual world, with the type of modeling software used
by urban developers, Betaville aims to revise the traditional urban
development process. Rather than a closed-door environment where near-final
proposals are revealed to the public, the Betaville process relies on the
continual refinement of a design through group participation. Because it is
so easy to use and provides quick 3D images that can be viewed from many
angles, Betaville will encourage early, collaborative change. The program
aims to reduce project time and cost and ease the friction that often arises
between developers and communities.

The program is scalable, and intended for use on small projects such as
creating a bike lane or median, as well as major developments including
green spaces, public art installations or construction of a sports or
residential complex.

Skelton, whose team at NYU-Poly developed Betaville in collaboration with
the University of Applied
Sciences<http://www.hs-bremen.de/internet/en/index/html>in Bremen,
Germany, believes this open exchange will yield more dynamic,
better-utilized public spaces. "This technology allows us to bridge the gap
between the technical arm of urban development and the ultimate
stakeholders—the people who live and work in the community," he said. "If a
user-generated television network like YouTube is possible, why not
user-generated cities?"

Betaville is built on an open-source gaming engine and offers full-scale
visualizations of communities that can be used as "base models" to propose
changes to the environment. Within the virtual world, links can be embedded
to information about the history of a site, zoning considerations and
development proposals. Users can suggest changes, and these can be modeled
directly in an alternate version of the world, where browsers are free to
criticize, suggest and debate through a text forum.

By issuing the open call for participation in the development of Betaville,
its developers hope to hone its features and demonstrate its value for
public arts, architecture and space projects.

The development of Betaville is supported by a Cultural Innovation
Fund<http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/new-york-city/nyc-cultural-innovation-fund/past-winners>grant
by the Rockefeller Foundation. More information about Betaville is
available at http://bxmc.poly.edu/betaville.

*About Polytechnic Institute of New York University*

Polytechnic Institute of New York University (formerly Polytechnic
University), an affiliate of New York University, is a comprehensive school
of engineering, applied sciences, technology and research, and is rooted in
a 156-year tradition of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship:
i-squared-e. The institution, founded in 1854, is the nation's second-oldest
private engineering school. In addition to its main campus in New York
Cityat MetroTech Center in downtown
Brooklyn, it also offers programs at sites throughout the region and around
the globe. Globally, NYU-Poly has programs in Israel, China and is an
integral part of NYU's campus in Abu Dhabi. For more information, visit
www.poly.edu.

SOURCE Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Back to top<http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/urban-planning-meets-online-gaming-105433288.html#linktopagetop>RELATED
LINKS
http://www.poly.edu

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