https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE Expo
    • Calendar of Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Administration


Governments engage residents with games

Governments engage residents with games

Entertaining activities help address serious issues.
  • Written by Jennifer Grzeskowiak
  • 1st July 2011

Moving beyond public service announcements, flyers and websites, some local governments have begun using games to address community issues. The games are helping cities and counties reach residents — youths and adults, tech-savvy and not — and engage them with their surroundings and each other.

Last year, officials in Macon, Ga., contracted with Miami, Fla.-based non-profit Knight Foundation to create a game that could address two of the city's concerns: social divisions and economic development. The result was “Macon Money,” which rewarded participating residents with currency to spend at local businesses.

Upon request to the Macon Money office, residents received half of a bond worth between $10 and $100. They then had to find someone with a matching half — whether through Facebook, Twitter, other social media or local events — to redeem it for Macon Money. When the game ended in June, 2,688 residents had received a combined $65,000 worth of Macon Money to spend at 41 local businesses.

The benefits of the game went beyond economics, says Andrew Blascovich, director of external relations for Macon Mayor Robert Reichert's office. “People were getting out and meeting their neighbors. It was the perfect ice breaker,” Blascovich says. “It is a great model for how a community can break down barriers and a great local stimulus idea.”

While many of the games developed by the Knight Foundation and other non-profit developers focus on adults, some are targeting a younger audience. Harrison County, Miss., worked with the Knight Foundation, Red Cross, the Humane Society and others to develop and promote Battlestorm, a game that combines elements of capture the flag and freeze tag to teach kids about hurricane preparedness. Teams of students play against an adult team and receive points they can redeem for “special powers” when other youth upload a photo of their hurricane preparedness kits — including bottled water, toiletries and pet supplies — to a designated website.

The points can buy the team extra players, balls or additional minutes of the game — referred to as preparedness items, such as rain jackets, generators and batteries. Before Harrison County's Battlestorm game took place in May, the students had practice sessions, helping promote exercise in addition to storm readiness. “If we're reaching children, they'll take the message home to their parents,” says Rupert Lacy, director of Harrison County Emergency Management.

Jennifer Grzeskowiak is a Laguna Beach, Calif.-based freelance writer.

One for all

In designing community engagement games for local governments, it's best to take a universal approach, says Asi Burak, co-president of New York-based Games for Change. “Whatever we do with the city, we do it in a way that's creating a model that can be replicated,” Burak says.

Tags: Administration

Most Recent


  • Report: Younger employees working in public service are stressed over their jobs, worried about debt
    The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many older workers out of their public service jobs and into early retirement—contributing to the start of the ongoing ‘great resignation’ economic trend while leaving a knowledge gap that’s not easy for younger generations to fill. New research from the MissionSquare Research Group sheds light on the experiences of these younger […]
  • road maintenance
    Road maintenance is a good place to incorporate sustainable practices; predictive data analysis can help
    One way to achieve sustainability is to work to extend the life of an agency’s existing assets, says Matt Sprague, industry strategy director – local government at Trimble, a technology company that offers a variety of integrated infrastructure solutions. The solutions may enable improved decision-making by connecting the right information with the right administrators and […]
  • water systems
    Compliance clock is ticking: Community water systems have one year to complete a Service Line Inventory
    In about 12 months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will expect all public water systems to have completed a Service Line Inventory, which is a complete accounting of the material of every service connection in the public network that delivers drinking water. The main purpose of the regulation (Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, or LCRR) […]
  • materials
    Public buyers have several options to keep problem materials out of the waste stream
    Cities and counties are taking multiple steps towards sustainability, says Curran Hughes, co-founder and president of Renegade Plastics, a fabric product manufacturer that offers an alternative to PVC (polyvinyl chloride)-coated fabrics. Its low carbon coated fabrics curtail plastic waste and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the company. “Local governments are doing a nice job […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Lessons from your friendly neighborhood public service employees
  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery

White papers


7 Resources to Level-up Your Federal Grants Administration and Compliance

5th September 2023

Elevator Phone Line Replacement Strategy | A Guide to Reliable, Code-Compliant Solutions

29th August 2023

2023 State of Public Sourcing Report: The Bright Future of Public Procurement

23rd August 2023
view all

Webinars


Grant Preparedness: Unlocking Funding Opportunities for Your Success

10th August 2023

2023 State of Public Sourcing: Taking Local Governments into a Bright Future

1st August 2023

Stop Playing with Fire: How to Manage Infrastructure Asset Risk So You Know You’re Covered

20th June 2023
view all

PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


Gallery: Hottest temperatures recorded in American cities during July

12th September 2023

The top 10 Asthma Capitals for 2023

7th September 2023

U.S. cities with the cleanest air from latest “State of the Air” report

5th September 2023
view all

Twitter


Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.