Minecraft helps upgrade cities

The city of Le Cayes in southwest Haiti had to be rebuilt after a large flood. But before that, residents were offered to draw what their hometown should look like in the virtual Minecraft space. According to the best sketch, reconstruction was carried out. Minecraft modeling is part of the Block by Block project , which is led by the UN.

As part of the Block by Block project, residents of each city can offer their own version of changing urban architecture. This is especially true after the devastating natural disasters that happened in Haiti: “There was a group of fishermen who couldn’t read, write and never used a computer, but they made a plan for the main square of Le Que,” said Pontus Westerberg, UN project manager . “On the plan, they added a wave protection dam and public toilets.” The model really helped people imagine firsthand what the area will look like after restoration. ”

The photos show the coastal zone of Le Quay and the corresponding fragment on the map of Minecraft.





The United Nations Urban Modernization Program is targeted at young people aged 14–25, that is, at the main Minecraft audience. Hundreds of millions of people around the world play this game (more than 50 million licenses have been sold alone), so the interface is familiar and understandable to most.

Haiti is not the only region where young people are invited to change the world around them. The UN program covers more than 300 cities in different countries. In many cities, most of the territory is in public use, and not in private property (for example, 60% of the territory of New York is in public use), so citizens have the right to transform the territory to their taste.


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As practice has shown, this approach is very popular among the population. Both ordinary people and professional architects take part in the design.