Sim civics

The Boston Globe ^ | 07 August 2005 | Jeff MacIntyre

[Lorianne]

New game-like computer software is empowering ordinary citizens to help design better cities. Can the professionals and the public learn to play well together? ___ FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, the future of urban planning arrived in the form of a wonkish but strangely addictive new computer game. In SimCity, a player assumed the twin roles of mayor and city planner, creating elaborate cityscapes, managing zoning, transportation, and growth, while fighting off poverty, crime, traffic, and pollution.

SimCity went on to become the best-selling game title in history, but its reach has extended far beyond the realm of ordinary gameplay. As Princeton sociologist Paul Starr wrote in a 1994 article in The American Prospect about simulation games and public policy, ''SimCity ... has probably introduced more people to urban planning than any book ever has." And in fact, as its creator has noted, SimCity's design was influenced by complex theories of urban development, such as the systems theory work of MIT professor Jay Forrester.

[etlib]

Of course the real flaw here is the idea that any simulation, no matter how detailed, accurately reflects the real world.

Sim City might be OK as an educational tool for elementary school but I shudder to think of it being used and trusted by actual planners. The scenario with Godzilla may be as real as any.

Far too many believe that computer simulations are accurate and tell us anything we need to know about the future or the effect of human actions.