Gentrification - The Game, created by Internet researcher Kate Raynes-Goldie, game enthusiast David Fono, architect Alex Raynes-Goldie and educational technologist Luke Walker, pits teams of “developers” against “locals” in a live competition designed to contrast corporate and community-based approaches to urban development.

Fono describes the game as a mixture of live-action Monopoly and performance art, with Kate Raynes-Goldie amending that tagline to include “random acts of kindness plus public space hacking.”

In this outdoor game, small teams of players compete to collect properties and transform the neighbourhood. As developers, they'll develop swanky lofts, erect coffee shops, and raise property values. As locals, they'll form BIAs, build community centres, and try to thwart the developers. Along the way there will be art, vicious debates, and possibly an Apple Pear Store.

The game is played in rounds, and in each round, teams perform a variety of actions. They can scout properties and collect them by taking photos, then redevelop them by trading in permits. They can negotiate with other teams for land, cash or influence. Or they can execute one of many extra tactics, from the Slick Advertising Campaign (performed via sidewalk chalk) to the nefarious Protest (complete with placards.)

Gentrification received Best Use of Technology and Best in Fest at the recent Come Out & Play Festival 2010 in New York and was played in Hide and Seek Festival in South London in July.