Urbanology Online allows wannabe public officials to practice calling the shots

By Kelly Manser on January 11, 2013

“A philanthropist wants to open a free charter school in an underserved city area—built on top of the city’s largest park.  Will you allow it?”

Such questions are the ones faced by public officials and office-holders the world over, every day.  And now an interactive online quiz by BMW Motors allows web users to put themselves in the shoes of municipal policymakers for a minute or two.

Courtesy of BMW Guggenheim Lab.

The Kala Nagar Traffic Junction in Mumbai. Courtesy of BMW Guggenheim Lab.

Urbanology Online is the creation of the German auto company’s Guggenheim Lab, a scientific body that moves from city to city in hopes of breaking new ground (sometimes literally) in the fields of science, design, and sustainability.  Through January 20, the Lab will be stationed in Mumbai, India, after spending time in both NYC and Berlin.  Researchers are currently conducting two city-wide studies investigating Mumbaikars’ perspectives regarding perceptions of personal space, as well as the specific physical areas which represent to them this idea of privacy and a space that belongs to the individual.  The Lab’s website professes the institution’s aim to address “the choices Mumbaikars make to find a balance between individual and community needs.”  The Urbanology quiz allows the curious to try their hand at balancing sustainability, transportation, innovation, and wealth, among other details of urbanization.  At the quiz’s end, you are matched with a city that most closely corresponds to your choices.

While the urban dilemmas presented are very realistic, it’s worth noting that the questions lack the real-world context that make each community unique and often non-conducive to simple yes/no answers.  For even the most respected politicians, the most savvy choice is not always the most altruistic; it’s about picking your battles and knowing which concessions to make.  It would be fascinating if, in a similar quiz, early-on decisions you made influenced the content of and options for questions to come in the game, like the “karma meter” in some video games.  After each question, a yes/no breakdown of previous users’ responses appears.   Most responses lean towards the fiscally liberal, although some questions (such as the charter school one above) have responses split nearly fifty-fifty (these are the questions that make you think for a minute or two before clicking).

While the quiz is not perfectly realistic (and, as an online simulation, it never could be), it’s worth taking at least a few times.  Not only does each testing feature a different ten-question order, but also each question set leads to a different answer.  Without changing my decision-making ideology, I’ve been paired up with Berlin, Sao Paulo, and Johannesburg.  This variety just goes to show that every city is unique; each metropolitan area is a product of its own geography, people, history, and events, and the decisions that are made accordingly.

While it’s important to note that real-life policy choices are more difficult and complex than Urbanology’s set-up, the quiz is a worthwhile exercise in human-geography and decision-making.  Check it out, especially if you’re into the social sciences.  And if you’re not…well…it’s fun to pretend you’re in charge, right?

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