IEEE ISTAS 2021 Water and Cities: Get in the game! Part 1

Flooding is the most frequent and costly disaster threatening the sustainability of cities in Canada and also around the globe. Technical approaches alone are not effective in addressing the problem because flooding issues require discussions and agreements among stakeholders. This workshop begins with a “5×5” speaker session: five presenters speak for five minutes each offering a different viewpoint on the topic “Water in our Cities”; together, they cover the following perspectives: public, private, global, academic, and artistic (Part 1). Attendees then are introduced to the "Flood Resilience Challenge Game," an interactive “serious game.” Serious gaming is an approach to learning about complex socio-environmental problems that creates safe spaces for stakeholders to interact and explore innovative ideas for addressing these problems and imagine unknown futures. The game involves role-playing, which offers an effective means of gaining insight into different perspectives, developing communication and conflict resolution skills, and facilitating collective decision-making. After hearing about the game's background (Part 2), participants have an opportunity to play (Part 3)!