Decatur Looks to Go Virtual…Yes, Like "Second Life" Virtual
December 19, 2008 | 2:05 pmCSD Mom linked us over to an article which references a City of Decatur webpage that details a new and ambitious initiative called “Virtual Decatur“.
The proposal speaks for itself…
The City of Decatur is currently evaluating the use of virtual environment technology to encourage community networking, improve civic engagement, and promote economic development in the city. Immersive virtual environments, initially popularized by games such as World of Warcraft© and social networking sites such as Second Life©, are gaining popularity for use as educational and training tools. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently evaluating this technology to promote learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Visit NASA’s website.
Similar to other social networking tools, Virtual Decatur will provide an environment in which residents, businesses, institutions and visitors can interact and connect around a common interest. However, it is it is imperative that the project go beyond the features of traditional virtual environments. The overarching purpose of this project is to allow users to interact with the City in new and innovative ways that are not possible in the real world. It is envisioned that the real world experience may be enhanced through participation in Virtual Decatur.
….Virtual Decatur was first conceived as a way to allow residents to experience the look and feel of potential developments in the city. For example, avatars (electronic characters) could walk through and around a model of a proposed parking deck to determine its impact on the community. However, the concept of Virtual Decatur has been expanded considerably to include ideas like allowing businesses to scout locations, allowing avatars to view live City Commission meetings, and promotion of city events.
Read more about it here.
Umm…could I just get the ability to watch commission meetings online? I don’t need to kill orcs along East Ponce or fly through a virtual parking deck in the process. 
But seriously, I like the idea of being able to view a potential development “virtually” to get a better sense of it…but all those other aspects? They seem a bit superfluous.
It kind of reminds me of a story I heard on NPR the other day about “walking around” and shopping online in a virtual mall.
Great! This will be an ideal way to settle the annexation debate. Hand out virtual swords and crossbows and let everyone battle it out.
Last ones standing get to smite the commission and declare themselves High Lords of Decatur.
Bestill my geeking heart. I’m speechless, and that’s a rarity in both the real AND the virtual worlds. I’m going to read the RFI before commenting any further, other than to ask what level I have to be before I can learn the spell to open a portal to the Marta plaza…? It would do WONDERS for the City transportation plan and Terrific Thursdays! I’ll only charge a 1 gold 50 silver tip, your mats.
Uh, I think for the time being I’ll just keep walking around downtown.
Second Life is just soooooo last year. Empty and dead.
WTF?!!! I just wrote a check for multiple thousands of dollars to the COD, and that was for my SECOND installment! No wonder the freakin’ city needs more taxpayers, if they’re spending our money on pointless crap like three-dimensional virtual city environments. Time to vote Libertarian, people!
Good grief! I’m with mistercrayfish on this one (having also just shelled out a bucket load of cash on my second tax instalment).
If the COD wants to stream meetings is there some problem with a humble webcam? Lets hope some 13 year old kids jump on the RFP, and do it for some pocket money (sounds just up you average gamers alley).
I’m generally very impressed with the COD, but this sounds like a huge waste of money!
It’s sort of hard to complain about the cost of something when you don’t know the cost of something. To all the folks here who made comments along those lines – why don’t you wait and see?
Personal opinion is that paying the committee to review the RFP is already overpaying for the concept, but OK, will wait and see!
I’m with Steve. People freaked out over the supposed cost of the CSD “Save Our Schools” thing and now they’re getting all huffy over this, but neither endeavor strikes me as something that would be all that expensive or time-consuming, and both could be beneficial. Why so quick to criticize with so little information?
[...] tip of the viking helmet to both Decatur Metro and Brandon Sheats’ Twitter updates for this interesting bit of news. Game Politics and [...]
lumpintheroad – I’m quick to criticize this proposed project because, based on the fairly self-explanatory three-paragraph description above, this sounds (to me) like an unnecessary waste of tax money on an overblown, poorly-conceived, “gee whiz” technology. We already pay the highest per capita taxes of any city in the state of Georgia. My property taxes in Decatur are already so high that my wife and I have had serious discussions about whether we can afford to live her after we retire.
People have created lots of rich, interactive social communities on the web without three-dimensional virtual environments, and these all work just fine (this blog, Facebook, MySpace, online forums, etc.) The development of a realistic three-dimensional graphic “environment” therefore seems to me like an egregious waste of money.
My existing frustration with having to transfer so much money from my bank account to the City of Decatur, coupled with what sounds to me like an expensive, unnecessary “gimmick” in the City’s proposal, causes me to react very negatively, even when the only description I have of the project appears in the three paragraphs above.
I’m with Flaka on this one — any money already spent considering this nonsense is too much.