We're not sure if planners will find this game, since it's so close to real life, but maybe it will make a good recommendation for friends and family members?
Julie Strupp spreads the words about the "Blocks and Lots" online game. Strupp calls the game a "cute game about land use and urban development," in which players are tasked with rezoning a neighborhood to improve the lives of residents.
"There are five basic zones in the game, including manufacturing, single-family homes, and open space. Your job is to adjust them according to what homeowner Mary Jones, factory owner JT, environmentalist Tulip Groves, and a variety of other characters want around their neighborhood," explains Strupp.
It'll probably come as no surprise that keeping the peace is harder than it might seem.
Read the full story: Can you rezone this neighborhood to make everyone happy?
Town Building Game Offers Moments of Pandemic Zen
Townscraper, a new "casual town building" game earned good reviews among early adopters this summer.
New Planning Games Focuses on Consensus Building
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Children in 55 countries are redesigning their cities in Minecraft
A U.N.-backed program lets students and community members reimagine sites in their neighborhoods in the game — and translate them into real-life buildings.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority