Gamiﬁed Web Application for Facilitating
Zero Carbon Activities by Local Government
Aoi Nagatani1 , Tasuku Watanabe1 , Yuya Tarutani1 , Yoshifumi Kamae1 , Shun
Sato1 , Marin Shoda1 , and Masahide Nakamura2
1

Graduate School of System Informatics, Kobe University Rokkodai-cho 1–1，
Nada-ku，Kobe，Hyogo，657–8501 Japan2
the Center of Mathematical and Data Science, Kobe Univ.

Abstract. In recent years, Japan has been actively pursuing the realization of zero carbon cities. However,significant challenges persist, including a lack of effective methods for local governments to communicate
zero carbon initiatives to their citizens. This has resulted in limited awareness among citizens about how
to participate in zero carbon initiatives. To address these issues, the authors develop a gamified application
aimed at promoting zero carbon activities in this research.Through a case study conducted in Sanda City,
Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, the authors report the progress of its social implementation.
Keywords: Zero carbon, zero carbon city, gamification, web application, local government.

1

Introduction

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has been increasing since the Industrial
Revolution, and global warming is progressing. Various eﬀects of global warming, such as
rising temperatures, rising sea levels and the impact on crops, have begun to be observed,
and countermeasures against global warming have become an urgent issue on a global
scale.
Therefore, in recent years, zero carbon city initiatives, in which local governments
aim to achieve zero carbon emissions as a countermeasure against global warming, havebeen expanding in Japan. Eﬀorts to achieve zero carbon city include the substitution ofrenewable energy sources, energy conservation and a shift to low-carbon transport[1], in
addition to these approaches, the participation of citizens is essential.
However, the following problems exist between local governments and citizens withregard to the zero carbon activities.
P1: There is no established method for local governments to disseminate information to
citizens on how to initiate zero carbon
P2: Citizens are not clear on how to get involved in zero carbon and activities are notwidespread
Therefore, measures are needed to solve these problems.
In order to solve the above problems, this research aims to establish a method for
local governments aiming to achieve zero carbon cities to spread the zero carbon activities
among citizens and to create opportunities for citizens to engage in zero carbon initiatives.
As a key idea to achieve this purpose, the authors develop a web application that introduces gamiﬁcation[2]. Speciﬁcally, the feature implementation is be based on the following
approach.
A1: Realization of the ability of local governments to provide zero carbon information to
citizens

David C. Wyld et al. (Eds): ICCSEA, NLAI, SCAI, CSIA, IBCOM, SEMIT, NECO, SPPR, MLDS -2023
pp. 45-57, 2023. CS & IT - CSCP 2023
DOI: 10.5121/csit.2023.132405

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A2: Gamiﬁcation to make it easier for citizens to engage in zero carbon initiatives
First, A1 aims to establish a method for local governments to provide information topromote the zero carbon activities, and proposes features such as F1: Administrator andF2: Article in a web application.
Next, A2 proposes a feature that lowers the barrier for citizens to engage in zerocarbon initiatives and allows them to continue to do so. Speciﬁcally, the authors propose
the following features: F3: Login, F4: Mission, F5: Quiz, F6: Level, F7: Map, and F8:Visualization of zero carbon initiatives.
As a case study, these approaches actually was implemented in Sanda City, Hyogo
Prefecture in Japan. Speciﬁcally, the authors implemented the Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge, a web application that promotes the zero carbon activities among Sanda citizens.
The authors also used the implemented Web application to exhibit at events and conduct demonstration tests at the city hall, and based on the user feedback got, the authors
examined the eﬀectiveness of the Web application and improve its features.

2
2.1

Preliminaries
Zero Carbon Cities and Their Challenges

In recent years, zero carbon city initiatives, in which local governments aim to achieve
zero carbon emissions as a countermeasure against global warming, have been expandingin Japan. Zero carbon means that CO2 emissions from businesses and households are
reduced to a level equal to or less than the amount of CO2 absorbed by forests[3]. As theGovernment of Japan aims to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, local governments arealso mainly aiming to achieve zero carbon cities by 2050[4].
Eﬀorts such as transitioning to renewable energy, energy conservation, and the shift
to low-carbon transportation[1] are being made to realize zero carbon cities. However,in addition to these approaches, citizens participation is essential. Due to the nature of
projects conducted by local governments, they are closer to citizens and more likely to
involve them than projects led by the national government. Therefore, it is important for
local governments to encourage citizens to work on zero carbon.
However, the following problems exist between local governments and citizens regarding the zero carbon activities.
P1: There is no established method for local governments to disseminate information to
citizens on how to initiate zero carbon
P2: Citizens are not clear on how to get involved in zero carbon and activities are notwidespread
Because of these problems, local governments are working towards achieving zero carbon cities, although citizens lack information on how to engage in zero carbon initiatives
and ﬁnd it diﬃcult and intimidating to participate. Therefore, measures are needed tosolve these problems.
2.2

Web-based Data Collection

In order to solve the problems between local governments and citizens described in Section 2.1, the authors consider the use of the Web. By using the Web, local governments
can provide citizens with information on zero carbon initiatives. In addition, citizens cancollect information on zero carbon initiatives from anywhere.

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47

By implementing an appropriate web application, local governments can continuously
update their zero carbon contents. Furthermore, by recording the actions of citizens regarding zero carbon, local governments can understand the eﬀorts of citizens regarding
zero carbon and utilize the data. For example, by analyzing citizens’ zero carbon behavior,local governments can determine what kind of initiatives they should take to promote zerocarbon.
In addition, the analyzed and tabulated data can be visualized and fed back to citizens
in an easy-to-understand form, enabling them to recognize the current status of the zerocarbon activities as a whole and to evaluate its eﬀectiveness.
2.3

Gamiﬁcation

In order to encourage more citizens to use the Web applications described in Section 2.2,
the authors consider the use of gamiﬁcation[2]. Gamiﬁcation is a method of turning aservice into a game by introducing game-like elements, which are expected to stimulate
users’ curiosity, activate their behavior, and bring positive beneﬁts to them.
In the context of related research that incorporates gamiﬁcation into web applications
connecting local governments and citizens, the example of theSanda Machiaruki App[5] [6]is illustrated. Sanda Machiaruki App is an application for promoting town walking among
tourists in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. The features implemented as an introduction to gamiﬁcation include a feature to receive points for visiting speciﬁc spots in
Sanda City using GPS, a present feature using points, and a quiz feature about the spots.
Numerous related research, including the Sanda Machiaruki App, have shown that
gamiﬁcation introduced into Web applications is eﬀective in encouraging user behavior.

3
3.1

Proposed Method
Purpose and Key Ideas

In order to solve the issues in Section 2.1, this research aims to establish a method for
local governments aiming to achieve zero carbon cities to spread the zero carbon activities
among citizens, and to create an opportunity for citizens to engage in zero carbon activities.
As a key idea to achieve this purpose, the authors develop a web application that introduces
gamiﬁcation as described in Section 2.3.
3.2

System Overview

The requirements for a Web application to achieve the purpose of this research as describedin Section 3.1 include the following.
R1: Ability to present zero carbon information from local governments to citizens
R2: There must be an easy mechanism for citizens to engage in zero carbon initiatives
Therefore, the authors implement the features based on the following approach in thisresearch.
A1: Realization of the ability of local governments to provide zero carbon information to
citizens
A2: Gamiﬁcation to make it easier for citizens to engage in zero carbon initiatives
By developing the Web application based on these approaches, local governments caneasily encourage citizens to participate in zero carbon activities.

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3.3

A1: Realization of the Ability of Local Governments to Provide Zero
Carbon Information to Citizens

In this approach, the authors aim to establish a method for local governments to provide information to promote the zero carbon activities, and propose features such as F1:
Administrator and F2: Article in the web application.
F1: Administrator As described later, this application has various features for providing
zero carbon information from local governments to citizens. In order to make appropriate
approaches to citizens, it is necessary to have an administrator feature to post, edit, anddelete information. The administrator feature should be restricted to only local government
oﬃcials.
F2: Article This is a feature for local governments to disseminate information on zerocarbon to users. By linking to zero carbon contents created by local governments andvarious useful contents published on the Web, information can be provided to users. In
addition, by displaying the title, summary, and image of the linked page, the application
can be used as an entry point to create an opportunity for users to get more information
on zero carbon.
3.4

A2: Gamiﬁcation to Make It Easier for Citizens to Engage in Zero
Carbon Initiatives

In this approach, the authors propose a feature that lowers the barrier for citizens toengage in zero carbon initiatives and allows them to continue to do so. Speciﬁcally, theauthors propose the following features: F3: Login, F4: Mission, F5: Quiz, F6: Level, F7:
Map, and F8: Visualization of zero carbon initiatives.
F3: Login This is a feature for identifying users who use the application. Users can use
the application by entering the required information and logging in. This is a necessary
feature for getting information on each user’s zero carbon actions and providing various
gamiﬁcation features.
F4: Mission This is a feature that presents missions for citizens to undertake in order toachieve zero carbon cities and encourages users to undertake them in a game-like manner.
The purpose of this feature is to create an opportunity for citizens to engage in zero carbon
activities by showing them speciﬁc measures to participate in zero carbon activities andencouraging them to continue to do so. To this end, the feature presents the signiﬁcanceof the mission, the amount of CO2 reduction and the amount of money saved associatedwith the actions related to the mission, and awards points that increase the level describedlater when the mission is achieved, aiming to improve users’ motivation for zero carbon
activities. The achievement status of the mission is aggregated for each individual andused to calculate the level described later and visualize the initiatives.
F5: Quiz This is a feature that presents quizzes to test users’ knowledge of zero carbon.
By answering the quiz correctly, users can get points that increase their level. The purposeof this feature is to learn about zero carbon while maintaining users’ motivation by making
it a game. Quizzes are presented in diﬀerent levels of diﬃculty, allowing users to learn stepby step.

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49

Fig. 1. Architecture of the proposed application

F6: Level This is a feature for visualizing users’ zero carbon initiatives. The user’s levelis calculated based on the user’s mission achievement status and the number of correct
answers to the quiz. The user’s level is used not only to visualize the user’s initiatives,
but also to expand the viewing range of the map described later according to the user’s
initiatives, contributing to the improvement of the user’s motivation.
F7: Map This is a feature that displays a map that is opened according to the value of thelevel described above in order to visualize the user’s zero carbon initiatives. Users can enjoy
game elements such as exploring the map according to their level of zero carbon initiatives,contributing to the improvement of their motivation. By allowing users to explore the mapof the local government that provides the service, it is possible to attract users’ interest
and contribute to a better understanding of the area in which they live.
F8: Visualization of Zero Carbon Initiatives This is a feature that visualizes theamount of CO2 reduction and the amount of money saved per user aggregated by the
mission feature described in Section 3.4. Users can check the amount of CO2 reduction
and the amount of money saved per week for each user, and the purpose is to maintain theirmotivation by knowing the speciﬁc contribution to zero carbon. In addition, by visualizing
the amount of CO2 reduction and the amount of money saved for all users, it is possible
to increase users’ awareness of their contribution to zero carbon city.
3.5

Architecture

The overall architecture of the proposed application is shown in Figure 1. This Web application is assumed to be operated by local government oﬃcials for a long period of time.
Therefore, the authors design the database so that the missions, quizzes, and articles,
which are elements of gamiﬁcation, can be changed dynamically.

4
4.1

Case Study: Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge
Implementation

Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, has declared that it will realize zero carbon city
status by 2050. Therefore, as a case study, this research implements the proposed method

50Computer Science & Information Technology (CS & IT)

described in Section 3 for realizing the zero carbon city of Sanda City. Speciﬁcally, theauthors implement a web application called Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge to encourage
Sanda citizens to engage in zero carbon activities.
The programming languages and technologies used for implementation are shown below.
– Backend• Java• SpringBoot• MySQL– Frontend• TypeScript• React
The authors use these programming languages and technologies to implement the casestudy in Sanda City.
Prior to the explanation in the next section, the home screen that is displayed when auser logs into this application in the Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge is shown in Figure 2.
The menu bar at the top of the home screen exists on each screen, and users can navigate
to each feature screen by pressing the buttons on the menu bar.
From here, implementation of each feature is explained.
F1: Implementation of Administrator Feature Administrators can view user information, view, create and edit missions, quizzes, articles and tags on the administrator
screen. The tag feature allows users to intuitively add icons to the user screen by setting
tags for missions, quizzes, and articles.
F2: Implementation of Article Feature Users can view the article screen by pressing
the “Information” button on the top menu bar of the home screen shown in Figure 2.
Figure 3 shows the article screen. Administrators can set articles on zero carbon that theywant citizens to read, and by clicking on the article, users can access external sites. In
addition, administrators can set articles that they want citizens to read in particular as“Important notice” in the administrator screen described in Section 4.1, and display themat the top of the screen. The important notice is assumed to be used to provide informationthat requires citizens participation, such as announcements of zero carbon events in Sanda
City.
F3: Implementation of Login Feature Users can log in to this application by creating
an account with a username and password. The actions taken in this application, such ascompleted missions and quiz answers, are recorded in association with this username.
F4: Implementation of Mission Feature Users can view the mission screen by pressing
the “MISSION” button on the screen that transitions to the mission screen by pressing
the “Play” button on the top menu bar of the home screen shown in Figure 2. Figure 4
shows the mission screen. The contents of the mission is to encourage users to take actions
that can easily reduce CO2 . Six missions per day are displayed in three levels of diﬃculty,
and users can get points by practicing the actions presented and achieving the missions. In
addition, administrators can set the points, the amount of CO2 reduction, and the amountof money saved that can be got when a mission is achieved in the administrator screenComputer Science & Information Technology (CS & IT)

51

Fig. 2. Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge User Fig. 3. Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge User
Screen: Home Screen
Screen: Article Screen

described in Section 4.1, so that users can check them before achieving the mission. In
this research, missions are created based on the information on “Zero Carbon Action30”[7]and “Energy saving at home”[8] published by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment
and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and their eﬀects are deﬁned.
F5: Implementation of Quiz Feature Users can view the quiz screen by pressing the“QUIZ” button on the screen that transitions to the quiz screen by pressing the “Play”
button on the top menu bar of the home screen shown in Figure 2. Figure 5 shows thequiz screen. The contents of the quiz is assumed to be questions on zero carbon andenvironmental issues. Three quizzes per day are displayed in three levels of diﬃculty, andusers can get points by answering them correctly. In this research, quizzes are created basedon the information on “Challenge! Global warming quiz”[9] published by the Japanese
Ministry of the Environment.
F6: Implementation of Level Feature Users can increase their level by completing
missions and answering quizzes correctly. As with the home screen shown in Figure 2, thelevel is always displayed in the upper right corner of each screen. Below the level is the
progress to the next level. In addition, the number of points required to increase the level
increases as the level increases. By increasing the level, users can clear the clouds on themap of Sanda City on the map screen.
F7: Implementation of Map Feature Users can view the map screen in the center ofthe home screen shown in Figure 2 by pressing the “Home” button. The map is createdbased on the actual map of Sanda City. By pressing the “Back/Advance” button, users

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Computer Science & Information Technology (CS & IT)

Fig. 4. Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge User
Screen: Mission Screen

Fig. 5. Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge User
Screen: Quiz Screen

can move the position of the character on the screen, and by pressing the magnifying
glass button, they can check the famous places at the current position of the character.
Figure 6 shows an example of a famous place displayed when the magnifying glass button
is pressed. Users can clear the clouds on the map of Sanda City and move to a new location
by increasing their level.
F8: Implementation of Visualization Feature of Zero Carbon Initiatives Users
can view the look back screen by pressing the “Lookback” button on the top menu barof the home screen shown in Figure 2. Figure 7 shows the look back screen. Users cancheck the missions achieved and the graphs of the points, the amount of CO2 reduction,and the amount of money saved per week. In addition, the total amount of CO2 reducedby the mission achievement of all users is displayed at the bottom left of the home screen
shown in Figure 2. By pressing the corresponding part, the display period can be switchedbetween “whole period” and “this week”.
4.2

Demonstration Experiment

The authors conducted two demonstration experiments by exhibiting at the zero carbon
event in Sanda City and by local government oﬃcials to conﬁrm the operation of Sanda
Zero Carbon Challenge in the production environment and to evaluate each feature fromthe user’s perspective. Based on the feedback got through each demonstration experiment,
the authors discussed the eﬀectiveness of the application and implemented improvements
to the features and additional features.
Experimental Procedure The experiment procedure of the two demonstration experiments described in Section 4.2 is explained below.
First, the participation in the zero carbon event is explained. In this experiment, theauthors participated in the Sanda Zero Carbon City Forum held in Sanda City[10] andComputer Science & Information Technology (CS & IT)

53

Fig. 6. Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge User
Screen: Example of a famous place on the map
Fig. 7. Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge User
Screen: Look back Screen

exhibited Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge. Sanda citizens actually operated the application,
tested the operation of the application, and collected feedback from users.
Next, the demonstration experiment by Sanda City oﬃcials is explained. The authors
conducted two demonstration experiments by local government oﬃcials using the application under development. For about two weeks, the authors actually asked the oﬃcials to
use the application and pointed out improvements.
Experimental Results The results of the demonstration experiment got by the experimental method described in Section 4.2 are explained below.
Table 1 shows the appreciated points and problems of Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge
from the feedback got from the demonstration experiment. The points appreciated in
the demonstration experiment are the design of the application. It is considered that thedesign is easy to use and friendly because the main target is elementary school students. In
addition, it is considered that the concept and purpose of the application are suﬃciently
conveyed from the feedback such as “easy to use” and “can learn about environmental
issues in a fun way.” Next, the points to be improved are the usability of the application.
Table 2 shows the improvements made to each problem based on the feedback.

5
5.1

Discussion
Technical Issues

The application developed in this research has the following technical issues.
First, there is a data collection issue. In this application, users register and log in withany username and password. This is to minimize the information that users have to enter

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Computer Science & Information Technology (CS & IT)
Table 1. Feedback got from the demonstration experiment

Table 2. Improvements made to each problem based on the feedback

Computer Science & Information Technology (CS & IT)55

and reduce the burden on users. On the other hand, this speciﬁcation narrows the scopeof data analysis accumulated in the application. For example, it was initially envisionedthat users would be asked to register their age in order to analyze user behavior by age
group, although this was no longer possible because age registration was not required inorder to lower the barrier to user registration.
Next, there is an operational issue. This application is developed by a team with
programming knowledge, and local governments operate it by entering content. Therefore,
the development team needs to respond to improvements in features other than content
and the implementation of additional features each time, and if they cannot respond, theoperation of the application may be delayed. In the case of this research, it is almost
impossible to operate for a long time due to the diﬃculty of handover due to graduationof students, personnel changes in Sanda City, and lack of personnel.

5.2

Comparison with Existing Solutions

The application developed in this research has the following features compared to existing
solutions.
First, the diﬀerence in the scale of zero carbon initiatives can be mentioned. As existing initiatives for local governments to realize zero carbon cities, the targets are often
local governments themselves and companies, and there are many large-scale initiatives
such as the establishment of ordinances and policies. There are also many initiatives toencourage citizens to switch to electric vehicles and other things that greatly change theirlifestyles[11]. On the other hand, the application developed in this research assumes smallscale initiatives that citizens can easily work on. For example, it is easy to work on in daily
life, such as using public transportation and changing the setting temperature of the air
conditioner.
Next, the diﬀerence in the target of citizens who work to realize zero carbon cities
can be mentioned. As mentioned above, the target of the existing initiatives for local
governments to realize zero carbon cities is considered to be adults. On the other hand,the application developed in this research mainly targets elementary school students. Thisis because it is possible to give a chance for family and surrounding adults to work on zerocarbon by getting elementary school students interested in it. In fact, this application uses
designs and texts that are easy for elementary school students to use.

6

Conclusion

In this research, the authors considered the following problems in local governments aiming
to realize zero carbon city. 1. There is no established method for local governments todisseminate zero carbon initiatives to citizens. 2. Citizens do not know how to work on zerocarbon, and their activities do not spread. Therefore, in order to solve these problems, theauthors proposed a web application development introducing gamiﬁcation as a proposed
method. In addition, by actually implementing the proposed method as a case study in
Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, the authors were able to clarify its eﬀectiveness andimprovement points by exhibiting at events and conducting demonstration experiments inthe city hall.
For future prospects, it is possible to publish Sanda Zero Carbon Challenge to citizens
with the cooperation of Sanda City Hall and analyze its eﬀects, and to improve the features.

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Acknowledgment
This research was partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP19H01138,
JP20H05706, JP20H04014, JP20K11059, JP22H03699, JP19K02973, Young Scientists(No.23K17006) and the Center of Mathematical and Data Science in Kobe University
Intra- and Extra-mural DX Promotion Joint Project.
The authors would like to thank Mr. Kenta Sakaguchi and Mr. Hiroki Kishimoto of theSmart City Promotion Division, and Ms. Shoko Terashima of the Environmental Creation
Division of Sanda City Hall for their great cooperation in this project.

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Authors
Aoi Nagatani received the B.E. degree in Information and Intelligence Engineering from
Kobe University, Japan, in 2022. He is currently enrolled in a master’s course at theGraduate School of Systems Informatics, Kobe University, Japan. His research interests
include the Web service and gamiﬁcation.

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Masahide Nakamura received the B.E., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees in Information andComputer Sciences from Osaka University, Japan, in 1994, 1996, 1999, respectively. From1999 to 2000, he has been a post-doctoral fellow in SITE at University of Ottawa, Canada.
He joined Cybermedia Center at Osaka University from 2000 to 2002. From 2002 to 2007,
he worked for the Graduate School of Information Science at Nara Institute of Scienceand Technology, Japan. From 2007 to 2022, he worked for the Graduate School of System
Informatics at Kobe University. He is currently a full professor in the Center of Mathematical and Data Science Center at Kobe University. In 2015, he worked for Universite
Grenoble Alpes as a visiting professor. In 2018, he joined RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project as a visiting researcher. His research interests include the service/cloudcomputing, smart home, smart city, and gerontechnology. He is a member of the IEEE,
ACM, IEICE and IPSJ.

© 2023 By AIRCC Publishing Corporation. This article is published under the Creative CommonsAttribution(CC BY) license.