Original challenge: How might we optimize the design of cities to promote good and equitable public health?
Challenge from: CAMM ( Centre of Occupational and Environmental Medicine)- Region Stockholm
Redefined challenge: How might we help planners visualise and explore trade-offs between public health factors and other competing priorities in residential area design?
Solution: Planopolis
Concept: A gamified tool for exploring trade-offs in urban planning allows users to understand how different planning decisions impact public health and city development. It enables users to test various planning choices and receive immediate feedback on their consequences. The platform also supports collaboration, shared understanding, and systems thinking among different stakeholders.
Team: Team Urban
Jobo Mathaha, Estera Mlodawska, Irene Mbeleka, Emilia Moren, Edward Chisaka

Report abstract

This project explores how urban planning processes can better integrate public health perspectives through collaboration, visualization, and systems thinking.

Conducted within the Openlab Design Thinking course in collaboration with CAMM, Region Stockholm, the project focused on the challenge of promoting good and equitable public health through urban design.

Using a Design Thinking approach, the project combined literature review, stakeholder mapping, interviews, workshops, and iterative ideation to identify key challenges connected to urban health planning. These included fragmented collaboration, difficulties translating knowledge into practice, and tensions between long-term health outcomes and short-term priorities.

The result of the project was Planopolis, a gamified decision-simulation tool aimed at making planning trade-offs more visible and easier to explore. Through feedback from stakeholders and experts, the concept evolved into a platform intended to support communication, learning, and shared understanding between different actors involved in urban planning processes.

Project presentation video will be published shortly.