URBAN PLAY
The Urban Design Quartet as an Innovative Teaching and Knowledge Transfer Tool
Background and Motivation
Teaching foundational knowledge is a central challenge in higher education, particularly in interdisciplinary and practice-oriented fields such as urban planning. The content taught here is often diverse and abstractly intertwined, making it difficult to master through conventional learning methods. At the same time, an understanding of the complex interactions between individual urban components is essential for equipping students with the skills to design mixed-use and compact cities.
To bridge this gap, students in the “Fundamentals” module of the Bachelor’s program in Urban Planning laid the groundwork for an urban planning card game: working in twelve groups, they created 24 cards each that make the fundamental characteristics, key metrics, and interactions of urban planning tangible. The rationale behind developing the quartet is to support the learning process through playful elements and thereby enhance learning outcomes.
Project Goals
Given the promising approach and positive feedback from students, the quartet is now to be professionally refined so that it can be used long-term as a high-quality teaching and communication tool.
To this end, the students’ results will be curated to create a set of 52 high-quality cards. Additionally, a consistent graphic design and instructions will be created, and the game will be thoroughly tested for playability, consistency, and comprehensibility.
The project also aims to collaborate with external partners to ensure the long-term dissemination of the card game, as well as to conduct extensive public relations efforts to promote and establish the card game as a teaching and communication tool for academic and professional contexts.
Project Manager: Kyra Albrecht, B.A.
Supervisor: Dr. Marcel Cardinali
Duration: April 2025 – September 2025