Dr. Ekim Tan is an architect, urban planner, game designer. She is originally from Istanbul, now based in Amsterdam.
“Born in Istanbul, I moved to the Netherlands after working and studying in the United States, Syria, and Egypt. Trained as an architect, my growing interest and passion for cities and games led to a Ph.D. at the Technical University of Delft, titled ‘Negotiation and Design for the Self-organizing City: Gaming as a Method for Urban Design.’
In 2008, I founded Play the City in Amsterdam and Istanbul, which helps governments and market parties effectively collaborate with stakeholders. Since developing the City Gaming method during my doctoral research at TU Delft, it has been applied in projects worldwide, including Istanbul, Amsterdam, Dublin, Shenzhen, Tirana, Cape Town, and Brussels.”