Real estate experts met with affordable housing advocates to think of ways on how to make building houses affordable. One of the things deemed to be helpful is through the use of video games.
Scarsdale, New York former mayor Carolyn Stevens, together with other experts, are up for creating housing models through Tygron, a software created by the Dutch gaming firm, in hopes of creating hypothetical development possibilities in the real estate market. According to City Lab, this software has data on building tall infrastructures and zoning codes, among others given by the government. Then, locals will be allowed to test how taller buildings work.
Moreover, a decree for fair housing in 31 municipalities where housing prices are relatively high, even higher, was approved by Westchester County, allowing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to monitor the implementation of fair housing and to oversee the steps done toward the consensus. However, the rules involving jurisdiction have become a recipe for dispute.
For example, according to City Lab, in Westchester alone, the towns, rural precincts in the north of New York City and small cities may pose a problem as far as jurisdiction is concerned. So, all those who are involved in the real estate market decided to use the video game as a frame for dialogue, thinking that such way can help housing advocates to see the problem and be able to solve it immediately. Stevens even added that this game enables people to imagine firsthand the many things that could go wrong in housing.
Meanwhile, City Lab further explains the benefits of using video games in building affordable houses. "If you shift to a 3D world, you can allow the stakeholders to explore the data. We use gaming technology to be visual, create an experience, and give you very fast feedback on what you're doing," Stevens said.
Amid these enumerated positivities of video games in building houses, reports show that such way may not be feasible at all times, implying that people should not just put too much faith on it.
