The reality of many Brazilian cities is so challenging that it would make many mayoral candidates hesitant to take on the task of public administration. With this in mind, and aiming to bring political and urban discussions to children and teenagers, the Brava Foundation, in partnership with the Wilson Center's Brazil Institute, developed Cidade em Jogo, a free app reminiscent of the famous game SimCity, yet featuring problems and challenges typical of Brazilian cities.
Designed for high school students, the game offers a choice of settings (rural, coastal, or metropolitan cities) and challenges them to decide what is best for their city based on financial, social, infrastructure, and public opinion indicators. Every decision directly affects approval ratings, impacting the evaluation of each "mayor" and, in extreme cases, even leading to strikes and occupations within the virtual cities.
The app was designed to be played in groups, encouraging consensus among students and fostering debate on citizenship and urban issues. Throughout last year, the Brava Foundation helped implement the game in public and private schools in São Paulo, resulting in interesting insights into how students from different socioeconomic backgrounds react when solving city-related issues.
In 2018, the Foundation plans to bring the app to schools in other cities. Since January, teachers registered on the platform have had access to a guide with instructions and lesson plans to address citizenship issues in the classroom.
Learn more about Cidade em Jogo here.
Via Porvir.
This article was written by Romullo Baratto. The translation is powered by AI.
