Gamifying Place: Using GIS to Drive Exploration, Learning and Economic Activity
Gamifying Place: Using GIS to Drive Exploration, Learning and Economic Activity
Abstract
We know Global Information Systems help communities and organizations share where things are and how they came to be. What happens when those assets are used to connect by helping to inspire, explore, learn, and participate? This session explores how gamification and location-based experiences can extend GIS beyond traditional maps and dashboards into active, place-based engagement. Using real-world examples, including Adventures created by geographer Joseph Kerski, attendees will see how familiar geographic features—parks, trails, historic sites, public art, businesses, infrastructure, and even ordinary streetscapes—can become the foundation for interactive challenges that encourage observation, discovery, and spatial thinking. The session will also examine how communities can use these experiences to support broader goals. A historic district can become a scavenger hunt. A downtown business corridor can become a game board. A park can become an environmental learning experience. A GIS Day activity can invite residents to investigate how their community works. By pairing geographic information with missions, questions, photo challenges, rewards, and other game mechanics, organizations can encourage people to spend more time in a place while learning more about it. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for identifying GIS assets, determining appropriate audiences and objectives, and transforming geographic information into experiences that support education, tourism, community engagement, placemaking, and local economic activity.