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.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions