for daisy arabella

PUP 301 Introduction to Urban Planning Final Project—Realism and Fantasy in SimCity Assignment Overview

The final project for the semester challenges you to critically examine the realism and fantasy of the popular urban simulation game SimCity.* Over the next six weeks, you will construct cities utilizing the software, assess the way in which urban planning decisions are simulated in the game, and analyze how well reality is replicated in these situations. (This project is worth a total of 200 points.)

*Alternative urban simulators, such as SimCity 4.0, Cities Skylines, etc. may be acceptable, pending advanced approval from the instructor. Note that the instructions below are based on the most recent SimCity (2013) version.

Downloading SimCity

First you will need to download the software to your device. SimCity can be purchased and downloaded at https://www.origin.com/en-us/store/buy/simcity-2013-/mac-pc-download/base-game/standard-edition The standard edition ($19.99) requires online access during play, while the complete edition ($29.99) can be played offline. (Note that you will need to download both SimCity and Origin, which is used to access the online version of the game.) To share the cost burden, you are allowed to complete the city-building stages of this project in teams of two students (and hence only need one download). You must, however, submit individual written reports for the final deliverable. Completing the Project

This project will be completed in four phases, with a deliverable due at the end of each phase. For each phase, you will plan and build a new city, based on the objectives outlined below. As you build your cities and are confronted with urban planning dilemmas, ask yourself the following questions:

 How does it happen in real life?

 How is it simulated in the game?

 What are the responses available for the decision-maker?

 What are the implications of each response?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------

City 1—Tiny Town (Due March 26)

During this phase, you will practice “playing the game” and getting used to its basic features. You will start assessing the way in which decisions are made (e.g. zoning decisions, infrastructure investments, revenue- generation, public service provision, etc.), and the simulated implications of these decisions.

Opening SimCity

 First, you will need to log on to Origin. Look for the icon that looks like this .

 From Origin, open SimCity listed under “My Games” and select the “Single Player” option.

 Create a game, using whichever region you prefer. (Cape Trinity is a good one, but feel free to try any.)

 For this first phase, select the “sandbox mode” to make things easy (for now).

 Select a site location.

 Name your city (bottom left corner of control panel) after yourself (example: “Dr. Kelley’s Tiny Town”). (If working in teams, use both names.)

Since the objective of this project is to assess how well SimCity simulates real urban life, you will not receive any further instructions about “playing” the game. SimCity provides an introductory walk-through that is helpful for new users. Also, the instruction manual (at http://www.simcity.com/en_US/manual) is useful.

For this first phase, develop a plan for an ideal small city that would contain all of the key infrastructure and public services necessary (streets, zoning, power, water, sewage, government, garbage collection, fire and police protection, health care, education, mass transit and parks.)

Build your city (and all key elements) until you reach a minimum of “metropolis” status (see the population chart) or your city is a minimum one year old (hover over the time indicator in the lower left to see the date).

Take a screenshot of your city. To take a screenshot, simply hold down the “c” button on the keyboard. Be sure to note the listed location where the screenshot is saved, so you can locate it later.

Make sure that your screenshot clearly includes your name in the city name.

Submit the screenshot of your city via the link on blackboard under the “Final Project” tab on Blackboard. Due via Blackboard by 4:50PM on March 26th. (Worth 10 points)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------

City 2—Growthopolis (Due April 2)

During this phase, you will analyze how well the game simulates issues relating to economic development.

Create a new city, naming it after yourself (example: “Dr. Kelley’s Growthopolis”).

In this scenario, your primary objective for your city is economic growth. Success will be measured by five primary indicators:

 Population growth

 Job creation (measured by the total jobs available in your city)

 Goods/freight (measured by total goods produced and total freight orders)

 Income (measured by revenue generated from taxes and other specializations/investments)

 Economic injections (measured by the number of tourists)

For this phase, continue to work in “Sandbox” mode to keep things simple.

Given the five goals listed above, develop a plan that you feel will best achieve these goals. Then begin building your city according to your plan, and assess how your actions impact the five growth-related goals.

Build your city until you reach a minimum of “megalopolis” status (see the population chart) or your city is a minimum one year old (hover over the time indicator in the lower left to see the date).

Take screenshots of each of the following:

 Population table, with details tab selected, showing city population, worker, and shopper info

 Population table, with details tab selected, showing industrial freight, students, and tourist info

 City budget table, showing all income and expenses

Submit your three screenshots via the link on blackboard under the “Final Project” tab on Blackboard. Due by 4:50PM on April 2nd. (Worth 20 points)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------

City 3—Sustainabilicity (Due April 9)

During this phase you will analyze how well the game simulates issues relating to environmental protection, sustainable resource use, urban growth management, and housing.

Create a new city, naming it after yourself (example: “Dr. Kelley’s Sustainabilicity”).

In this scenario, your number one objective for your city is sustainability.

Success will be measured by five primary indicators:

 Approval rating

 Balanced budget (measured by monthly profit + transactions)

 Job-worker balance (measured by unemployment and unfilled/available jobs)

 Commercial health (measured by unsatisfied shoppers and unsold goods)

 Industrial health (measured by unsatisfied freight demand and unfulfilled freight orders)

In addition, your city must contain the following elements:

 Transit service (either bus and/or streetcar)

 Preserved open space

 No homelessness

For this phase, DO NOT work in “Sandbox” mode (to make things more challenging).

Given the five goals listed above, develop a plan for how you will create a sustainable city that meets these goals. Then begin building your city according to your plan, and assess how your actions impact the five sustainability-related goals.

Build your city until you reach a minimum of 50,000 residents or your city is a minimum one year old.

Take screenshots of each of the following:

 Happiness panel, showing your approval rating

 City budget table, showing all income and expenses

 Population table, with details tab selected, showing city population, worker, and shopper info

 Population table with details tab selected, showing industrial freight info

 Population table with details tab selected, showing homeless population

Submit your five screenshots via the link on blackboard under the “Final Project” tab on Blackboard. Due by 4:50PM on April 9th. (Worth 20 points)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------

Final Report—Critical Analysis and Evaluation of SimCity (Due April 23)

Now that you had the opportunity to build some cities with SimCity, and have experienced the urban problems simulated and the responses available, it is time to evaluate the realism of the game.

Your final written report should include the following two sections:

Part 1 *Roughly 1-1.5 single-spaced pages

For each of the three cities you built, discuss the following:

 Describe your original plan for each city, and how you were going to accomplish that plan.

 Discuss the ways in which your city did and did not achieve your planned objectives.

 Discuss the biggest difficulties you ran into while developing each city according to plan, and how you attempted to overcome these difficulties.

Part 2 *Roughly 2-3.5 single-spaced pages

Present a critical analysis of how well the game replicates the challenges of planning a city in real life. This section should evaluate how realistically the game simulates complex urban systems and decision-making.

From among the topics listed below, or others you can think of, address the following questions:

 How does it happen in real life?

 How is it simulated in the game? Is it realistic? What is missing?

 What are the responses available (and lacking) for the decision-maker?

 What are the implications of each response? Are these realistic?

 The wicked and political nature of planning decisions and impact of private stakeholders

 The use of government takings (eminent domain) and land use controls (zoning)

 The provision of public services and infrastructure through public capital investments

 Sources of revenue for local government (taxes, bonds, etc.)

 Strategies for handling urban transportation needs

 Factors affecting economic health and strategies for driving economic growth

 Social issues and strategies for addressing these issues

 Environmental and resource problems and strategies for dealing with these issues

 Issues associated with population growth and strategies for growth management

You are encouraged to use screenshots from your SimCity games that illustrate the features (or lack of) that you discuss in your report.

Your final written report should be roughly 3-4 single-spaced pages in length (not including screenshots), and should be written in essay format (i.e. include an introductory and concluding paragraph, and content paragraphs consisting of well-structured complete sentences).

Thoroughly proofread for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. Reports containing excessive proofreading errors will not be accepted for credit.

Submit your final written report via the link on blackboard under the “Final Project” tab on Blackboard. Due Monday night April 23rd before midnight. (Worth 150 points)

NO late reports will be accepted.