Frequently Asked Questions

Who’s Detroit 24/7 for?

Detroit 24/7 on Community PlanIt is for anyone interested in helping to shape their community. It is for activists who want more opportunities to engage and speak out. It is for the person who has never been to a town hall meeting but has an idea for how the community should be. It is for the busy adult with only a few minutes to spare and for the passionate student with a free hour on a Saturday afternoon. It is for the city planner, who wants to connect with citizens. Detroit 24/7 on Community PlanIt is for everyone.

Why is it important?

Detroit 24/7 sets out to inform and engage Detroit’s citizens in the Detroit Work Project Long Term Planning process. The game gathers the voices of the community to create an authentic, interactive catalog of ideas, concerns and reactions to what is going on in Detroit.

How does a Detroit 24/7 game on Community PlanIt influence the planning process?

Detroit 24/7 prepares everyone for the planning process. Planners take in community members’ opinions and priorities to better understand what the community needs and wants from the planning process. In turn, community members leave the game informed, invested and ready to track the planning process through to its end.

 How is my personal information used?

When you register for a game, we ask that you provide some basic info about yourself. This information helps planners and researchers get a fuller picture of the community. All the information you provide is made anonymous and used only for research and planning purposes. No information will be sold to third parties. See the Community PlanIt Privacy Policy for more information.

Who can see the information I put into Detroit 24/7 on Community PlanIt?

As you progress through the game, you will have opportunities to share your stories and your ideas about Detroit. These stories and ideas will help Detroit Works Project Long Term Planning team with their planning efforts, and will be shared upon request with other organizations working to improve your city. Players should think of Community PlanIt as a public forum, just like a neighborhood meeting or town hall. Any information that users provide or communicate through Community PlanIt may be publicly assessable. Only provide content and transmit information that you feel comfortable sharing with others. Players have the option of making certain personal information available to other Community PlanIt users, such as age, gender, personal interests, institutional affiliations, and a picture. At a minimum, to participate in Community PlanIt, users must provide their email address, name, and connection to the community.

To help understand the impact of these services on people’s neighborhood planning processes, Community PlanIt keeps track of the pages players visit within the Community PlanIt website and how frequently players use system services. Community PlanIt is part of an ongoing research project by Emerson College at the Engagement Game Lab, and information posted, transmitted and otherwise collected by Community PlanIt may be used in research reports, journals, books, and other publications without additional permission or compensation. Personal information, such as your name and contact information, will not be used in any research publications. Community PlanIt does not sell personal information to any third parties. Community PlanIt may release information collected by the system to other educators, research partners, or local planning organizations for the purposes of academic research or community development if they agree to abide by this privacy policy.

 Detroit 24/7 on Community PlanIt is a game…so how do I win?

There are a few ways to win in Detroit 24/7 on Community PlanIt. For starters, the player with the most points at the end of the game will be celebrated with praise, prizes, and the Hometown Hero badge at the final meeting. Additional community-specific prizes will also be rewarded for accomplishments throughout the game.  The highest point-earning affiliation will also be celebrated as the winning affiliation. And remember, you are not just playing Community PlanIt for yourself—you are playing to promote certain values and priorities you believe to be essential for your community’s future. So earn as many planning flags as you can and try to convince others to help you make the planning priorities you care about the most prominent by the end of the game.

 So what exactly is this Map the Future thing?

An essential piece of the planning process is making sure planners and decision makers know the overall issues a community cares about. And all planning involves making tradeoffs—since there’s never an infinite amount of money, time, and resources, we need to do the best we can with what we have. Map the Future allows you to be an important and influential part of the prioritization process. The map reflects a list of priorities created by the planner leading the process. While there is not an opportunity to create your own priority, you can help shape the meaning of the ones that are there. Simply click on the priority’s name and share what you think.

 How are points assigned to challenges?

The points for challenges reflect the difficulty or level of effort involved in completing them. The challenges that are quick and easy to complete—selecting the method of transportation you usually use, for instance—are often worth 25 points. The more difficult challenges that require you to problem solve complex issues or do something out in your neighborhood can be worth up to 100 points.

 What if I think there are important issues being left out of the mix?

Speak out! Detroit 24/7 on Community PlanIt is designed to make conversation around difficult issues as easy and as civil as possible. If there’s a perspective on an issue not being addressed, then add it to the mix by clicking on Pose Your Own Challenge from Mission Control.  You get 10 points for posing challenges, and you get 10 points for completing challenges posed by other users. Players should play the game  in whatever way they feel is most effective to tackling real issues in the community..

 What happens after the game ends?

When Detroit 24/7 ends, all players are invited to a face-to-face meeting to discuss the community’s future. All the responses shared, conversations had and organizing done during game time will remain on the Community PlanIt website as a “past game” and remain accessible to those who have played. Planners will consult the online record as the planning process continues as a guide to the city’s priorities.

But Community PlanIt is only one way to engage in your community—whether it’s forming a social network online or getting together with neighbors to plant crops at an urban farm, there are so many opportunities you have for improving and influencing the future of your community. Community PlanIt aims simply to be one tool among many for making your community—and your planet—a better place to live.