Paper short abstract:

This research focuses on the use of immersive storytelling to facilitate shared visions of future cities, which have compassionate communities and living with nature as core principles. How can specific media and scenarios be used to reach the general public to co-create this vision?

Paper long abstract:

“The doors of the Mapping Center slide open and I am greeted by McCass, our ever-friendly Mapping Center Computer Assistant. I follow it to the central mapping room, which holds a huge-scale representation of the city of New Canterbury, a combination of 3D-printed buildings, parks, and landscapes, layered with AR representations of data. I ask McCass to show me how the city is feeling today, are we happy?”

The above excerpt is part of the story of Morvyn, a fictional city consultant living in the year 2070, and one of the many citizens of New Canterbury. These citizens are all part of the New Canterbury Project, which focuses on the use of immersive storytelling to facilitate shared visions of future cities.

As a society we will have to deal with a number of complex challenges. But how will these challenges translate to our daily lives? By using immersive storytelling methods, participants can embody different roles and explore what the future mundane could be like. One of these immersive design methods is the Grand Hearing: by playing the role of one of the citizens of New Canterbury, participants can explore together how to respond to issues raised within the community. Themes of past sessions have for example been: ‘End of live: Who Decides?’ and ‘The Voice of Nature’.

Format: 1. Grand Hearing (60-120 min, max. 7 role-players excl audience), or 2. Presentation about NCT project and why we focus on a imaginary city in 2070 (20 min).

Funded by ClickNL: https://www.clicknl.nl/en/case/new-canterbury-tales/