Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, June 2017. DOI 10.1007/s40647-017-0189-4

1. BOOK REVIEW
City as a Playable Unit
Anton Nijholt: Playable Cities: The City as a Digital Playground,
Springer, Singapore, 2017, € 95.19, ISBN: 978-981-10-1962-3
Brian Couch1
Received: 9 June 2017 / Accepted: 12 June 2017
Ó Fudan University 2017
The world’s population is becoming increasingly urbanized, and some argue that
advancement of technology along with the commercialization of cities has become a
hurdle for interaction of city dwellers with each other and the city itself. In Playable
Cities, edited by Anton Nijholt, several researchers pose ideas for ‘‘smart cities’’—
developing current metropolitan hubs to allow citizens to ‘‘playfully connect with
[their] environments, and with one another, by way of environments.’’ This involves
utilizing underused public data sources and technology so that citizens can have a
more active role in the advancement of their city.
Playable Cities does well with explaining the abstract topic of ‘‘smart cities’’;
they bring up many past examples of digital installations that were placed within
various cities across the world that were erected to gauge the likelihood of
interactivity among people passing by. For example, they discuss two public
instillations called the ‘‘Selfie Cafe´’’ and ‘‘Wish Board.’’ The prior allowed people
in a university department to take pictures on it, vote for which ‘‘selfies’’ taken on it
were the best, and allows users to share the pictures as well. In the latter, people
were able to digitally write their desires onto a display and read other wishes people
have posted. In both experiments, these installations fostered not only interaction
between the user and the device itself, but became ‘‘ice breakers.’’ Strangers started
to talk to one another and develop new connections over the shared experience of
using the device. These examples helped to make their points more relatable,
because initially it is difficult to see the importance of implementing such changes
to cities for readers. Usually, people are more inclined to isolate themselves and use
their mobile devices rather than engage with strangers in a public setting. But these
types of installations fostered a larger sense of community within their respective
space, which is important to get people to collectively work together in a city.
& Brian Couch
bjc399@nyu.edu
1
Westchester, NY, USA
123
Fudan J. Hum. Soc. Sci.
DOI 10.1007/s40647-017-0189-4

2. However, the issue of strangers not interacting enough may seem too superficial
compared to other citywide issues like crime, overpopulation, and wealth
disparities. It would’ve been more useful for the authors to explain the negative
health effects of isolation, like depression due to a lack of a support system that one
can express themselves to. Mentioning those scientific- and health-related details in
relation to the studies mentioned in Playable Cities would’ve made the reader better
realize the importance of having more community-fostering spaces within cities. On
a positive note, the authors still at least explained what a ‘‘third place’’ in a city is—
a public place ‘‘where people gather for social interaction and enjoy each other’s
company,’’ acting as an intermediary between the first place (the home) and the
second place (work). They note how third places (like cafes, community centers,
bars, and squares) are starting to disappear in cities due to heavy commercialization
in cities. This is very relatable and can be clearly seen in cities with the constant
closing of small, local businesses being replaced by chains. Readers can connect
with that reality, hopefully making them realize that there needs to still be public
spaces that aren’t solely dedicated to consumption. They even explain the criteria
for third spaces and why places like Starbucks don’t necessarily fit that criteria
despite claiming to be a third space, which is helpful for the reader to better
understand the term since laypeople most likely don’t refer to particular parts of
their city in those terms.
A particular section of Playable Cities that I found a bit too perplexing was the
chapter on ‘‘Mischief Humor in Smart Cities.’’ They talk about how people can
exploit smart cities for fun, for example through ‘‘flash mobs.’’ However, most of
the piece on accidental humor is how this type of humor is present in video games,
such as through ‘‘trolling,’’ glitches, and modding. The connection between that
information and the overall point of smart cities being important to fostering
community isn’t that clear, making this section seem entirely unimportant compared
to previous parts of the book. They don’t fully dive into how mischief humor occurs
in cities, and when they do, it sounds more polarizing than a benefit—They even
state that ‘‘mischievous activities in cities’’ may ‘‘be annoying and cause stress and
harm to individuals and communities.’’ A digital version of mischievous humor that
reflects previous installations mentioned in the book is also not explicitly explained.
Ultimately, I feel as if this section should have more emphasis on realistic examples
rather than video games, because it would make readers better understand where
mischief humor falls under the analysis on smart cities.
Perhaps the best, most relevant examples of people interacting with their cities
mentioned in this book are the explanations on mobile apps that directly involve
urban interaction. They briefly mention Pokemon Go, which gained international
notoriety after it was released in 2016. While I personally believe they should have
further expanded on just how popular Pokemon Go was and how it sparked a trend
of people using their mobile devices to explore their urban environments;
nonetheless, it was still a good example to bring up because most readers will be
able to connect with the mention itself. They also explain Google Maps in general
and how that application has essentially become essential with navigating a city for
many people, another thing the reader can connect with. These examples of
extremely popular apps show readers ways that they already treat their cities as
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3. ‘‘smart cities.’’ More niche apps and hobbies based on exploration were also
discussed, like ‘‘geo-caching’’ which people of that subculture can read and connect
with. Those details were effective in making the topic of smart cities and ‘‘pervasive
games’’ more relevant and comprehensible and were an overall keen tactic by the
authors.
One statement I don’t necessarily agree with that was made in Playable Cities is
their comment on displays in cities, such as Times Square’s themed screen displays,
and light designs on high rises in China. Fischer and Hornecker claimed that those
displays ‘‘may brighten up the city and distract from otherwise ugly architecture’’
but ‘‘do not make a city more livable and engaging’’ and ‘‘seldom help people to
connect emotionally with their city and with others.’’ Calling the architecture
‘‘ugly’’ also is unnecessary and distracts from the objective, more scientific
approach that the book has taken for the most part. That judgment may be
overgeneralizing, since people realistically can use these displays as ways to
converse (for example, friends can talk about a particular display that they find
entertaining or visually appealing). Many people also take pictures of these displays
and post them on social media, which is a way of engaging with your surrounding
and the city. However, I understand that many observations in the book be
generalizations since they are discussing cities in general, and not only focusing on
one particular city.
Back to the discussion on public, interactive installations, Ferreira et al. made an
interesting point that ‘‘anonymity plays an important role’’ in allowing ‘‘shy people
to express themselves more easily.’’ It showed that certain types of installations
(like the wish one) should have a sense of privacy for users in terms of what
information is displayed in whatever content the user adds to it, because people may
be discouraged to interact with them if they do not want other people to be able to
easily know what they have been added. Overall, Playable Cities does a good job
explaining both sides of the issues they address, even in the example I mentioned
before about mischief humor in cities. Although it may seem like a negative
assessment to say that mischief humor in cities will cause distress to individuals, it’s
realistic since not everything mentioned in this book will be perfectly accepted by
people in cities. The book is mostly objective, allowing the reader to gain their own
impression on ‘‘smart cities’’ and if they believe they are a future possibility.
Another example is how they mentioned the pros and cons of social media
platforms; although sites like Twitter and Facebook are ‘‘inclusive,’’ ‘‘allow anyone
with a registration [to] discuss or express comments or opinion,’’ and in essence a
‘‘home away from home,’’ they don’t necessarily substitute third places because
they do not provide the ‘‘realness of interaction’’ and aren’t attached to one’s local
environment due to their wide scope. Once again, the authors do well at presenting
both sides of an argument and don’t discuss social media in a completely negative
or positive thing. In the beginning of the book, they emphasize how people are more
willing to observe and engage with ‘‘smart’’ installations in groups, or will
individually decide to approach one if they see other people doing so. They also
state that there have been low interaction rates with various studies (like the
interactive fountain) because in many public spaces, people are in a hurry or have
other matters to tend to. While I appreciate the book’s overall objectivity, those
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4. moments still make me question whether ‘‘smart cities’’ are a feasible reality. In the
study on the interactive fountain, 81% of passerby’s completely walked past it. A
statistic like that alone makes the future of ‘‘smart city’’ development seem unlikely.
On the other hand, perhaps researches can use that statistic to come up with even
more unique methods of attracting passerby’s. Momentary, setup incidences like the
street version of ‘‘Pac-Man’’ that a few studies implemented may not be
representative of an erected, interactive installation that people have the choice to
engage with or not as they’re casually moving throughout the city.
The ‘‘Games as Strong Concepts for City-Making’’ is another particularly strong
section of Playable Cities. They explain how city development themed games could
be a way for people to better understand situations within their urban environment
compared to simply hearing about issues, because games are not ‘‘always biased’’ as
talking is. However, the biggest problem with this book is that not only is it
discussing a topic that is relatively ‘‘new’’ in the literature, but each section is so
distinct from one another that I still feel as if the concept of ‘‘smart cities’’ is still
confusing to me. The ‘‘City as Canvas for Change’’ deals more with human behavior
and reforming that through means of art and physical engagement with the city’s
surroundings, while all of part 1 deals more with the virtual sense and how gaming
and game mechanics relate to urban design and the development of smart cities.
After the final ‘‘chapter’’ or journal article, there is no conclusion that ties
everything together, so the reader is left with all this newfound information that is
hard to find the main point from. It is almost as if this narrative on Playable Cities
would have worked better if the three sections were divided into their own books, or
even having a conclusion section at the end of each part would have been helpful.
Overall, Playable Cities contains a lot of interesting, highly descriptive
information on the many facets of the research involving smart cities. After
reading the book, the reader still may see the topic as abstract and broad, especially
considering how modern this subject is. Nonetheless, the amount of Playable Cities
contains will be helpful in leading to further research on smart cities, and with the
variety of that information, researchers will hopefully be able to narrow down the
many areas of the subject. After doing so, perhaps many more people living in cities
will be able to comprehend the information laid out in this book and understand the
importance of being more engaged in the development of their homes. Playable
Cities and continued research on the subject may also hopefully lead people to
appreciate the interactivity they have with their respective cities (like the amount of
third spaces they have, or even things taken for granted like the art placed across
their city) more.
Brian Couch is a senior at New York University, studying both Global Public Health and Media, Culture,
and Communication at NYU Steinhardt. He has previously interned at the SeedProgram, a research lab
that focuses on the connection between big food company marketing and obesity and nutrition-related
issues in the United States. His research interests include how public health organizations effectively
communicate with the general public and the integration of digital technology in people’s daily lives.
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