Youth Camp 2015 with Minecraft on the Waterfront
Published on Thu 18 Jun 2015
Youth Camp 2015 was a successful and engaging workshop where seven secondary schools across the TAYplan area developed hypothetical visions for what they think Dundee waterfront should look like through interactive sessions using the popular game, Minecraft. Each participating school team was given an individual plot on a model of the Dundee Waterfront (designed in Minecraft by Andrew Rennie, Conservation Officer, Perth and Kinross Council) to develop their visions of the waterfront. A central aim of the Youth Camp was to encourage young people to think differently about places they live and to help them understand how they can influence how their place should change. Youth Camp, a project funded by TAYplan and the School of the Environment, University of Dundee and facilitated by PAS, was held on 11 June 2015 at the University of Dundee.
Pam Ewen (TAYplan SDPA) explains “TAYplan considers the role of young people in planning (both through consultation and in terms of the profession) to be centrally important. TAYplan believes it is important to help build the future of planning by encouraging young people into the profession. Often time is not taken to create the opportunities for young people to engage with planning. TAYplan and the University of Dundee have made it one of their priorities. Planners need to encourage future generations to have more of a say in how their places change”
“Minecraft classroom version is an excellent learning tool that enables pupils to work as a team and engage in a co-production of knowledge in the design of shared spaces. Equally, as individuals, pupils start to make judgements on the quality of spaces they create, i.e. by asking questions, is the wall too high, are the roads too far off…. and thus are able to make crucial connections between the spatial choices they make and the resultant impact on the wellbeing of individuals/groups. Thus, these skills emerge as the basic building blocks that professionals employ when creating masterplans of our cities ” says Deepak Gopinath, Lecturer in Town and Regional Planning at the University of Dundee, who is a co-investigator in this project.
At the Youth Camp, seven school teams participated including Grove Academy, High School of Dundee, Kinross High School, Perth High School, Perth Grammar School, St. Paul’s RC Academy and Waid Academy. A panel of judges including Prof. Rob Duck (Dean of School of Environment), Chris Van Der Kuyl (4J studios, Dundee), Councillor Will Dawson (Dundee City Council), Allan Watt (Dundee Waterfront Coordinator) and Lucy Thomson (PAS Young Placemaker) were present to select a school team for the School of the Environment Award for Most Creative Design. This Award was won by the High School of Dundee. Lorna Sim, Planning Officer, TAYplan presented a Future Planner Award to the winning team as well.
See the Minecraft Project Page
