Will Wright developed the remarkably popular computer game, 'The Sims' -- a combination of divine architect and urban planner.
"It's easy to feel good about The Sims. Children adore it and parents approve: not simply because it is constructive and repays long-term planning, but because playing God has its responsibilities.
...When he sold SimCity to Electronic Arts, the financial security allowed Wright - now obsessed by the ideas of the architectural design guru Christopher Alexander, author of A Pattern Language, and devouring works such as Abraham Maslow's Motivation and Personality and Paco Underhill's Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping - to concentrate on an idea he had been toying with since 1994: a kind of virtual doll's house, the idea that would eventually become The Sims."
Thanks to Chris Steins
FULL STORY: Sims like us
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.
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Southern Californians Survey Trees for Destructive Oak Pest
Hundreds of volunteers across five counties participated in the first Goldspotted Oak Borer Blitz, surveying oak trees for signs of the invasive beetle and contributing valuable data to help protect Southern California’s native woodlands.
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Tenant Screening: A Billion-Dollar Industry with Little Oversight. What’s Being Done to Protect Renters?
Reports show that the data tenant screening companies use is often riddled with errors and relies on information that has no bearing on whether someone will be a good tenant.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)