Virtual Planning

An interview with Eric Gordon, who was part of a team that recently won a MacArthur grant for using Second Life as a community planning tool.

1 minute read

June 12, 2009, 10:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


In the interview, Eric describes how they used Second Life in community planning meetings:

"At each workshop we brought about fifteen community members together in a room, and they each had a laptop that we supplied. What they were looking at was a virtual reproduction of the park in Second Life. We built the context around the park-the library, and the houses around it-and left the park space open, as a big empty lot of grass. So first we would all walk through that tabula rasa of the site, and then we went through a brainstorming process, where people would throw out ideas [for what they wanted to see there], like a basketball court, a big sculpture, or seating, and we had a designer on hand who created those things on the fly."

Thursday, June 11, 2009 in Metropolis Magazine

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 7, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

The mayor of Baltimore speaks into a microphone in front of a rally for more state transportation funding from Maryland.

‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan

Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.

October 2, 2026 - Baltimore Sun

A rendering of the waterfront development, which shows a lit-up stage by the waterfront and people walking about.

Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment

Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.

October 2, 2026 - ABC 7

A man and a woman go through NYC's new turnstiles, which are tall, clear double doors.

MTA invests $1.1 billion in ‘nearly-impossible’-to-evade fare gates

The new technology marks the Metropolitan Transit Authority's first turnstile redesign in decades.

30 minutes ago - Gothamist

A crane lifts a manufactured house, with is rectangular and does not yet have a roof.

HUD modernizes 50-year-old manufactured housing framework

The Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan establishes new energy-efficiency standards for manufactured homes, and new guidelines for anchoring them.

October 8 - Boston Real Estate Times

Cars driving into a residential neighborhood in San Fransisco.

New CA housing laws tear down development red tape

Recently-signed legislation makes building starter homes and ADUs cheaper and faster in California.

October 8 - Smart Cities Dive