Sim City
Yesterday in Sammy's class, Sim City came up during our discussion about virtual reality. I wasn't quick enough to get my two cents in, so I'm putting up here. Sim City did not begin as a game. It was a program that was developed by urban planners in Detroit in an attempt to determine how to revitalize the city.
I read about this in an introduction to one of Bob Thall's books (Thall makes photographs primarily of the urban landscapes of abandoned or crumbling Chicago). I can't remember which book, or who wrote the introduction, but it was definately a Thall book. There is a square-block smack in the center of downtown Chicago, Block 37, which had never been able to support any flourishing endeavour since approxametly the 1910s. Several movie theatres had been built on the site only to be host to a riot, or burned down (at least two burned to the ground). Arcades sprung up in the 1970s, but were often the centres of violence and drug deals. Many of them closed due to decreasing economic stability. Basically, everything that had been built there was unsuccessful.
In the late 70s, the city of Chicago commissioned a team of urban planners to figure out what was wrong with this block, and how to make it successful. The Chicago urban planners contacted Detroit urban planners who had developed a program called Sim City, in which they could program in the history of that piece of land to get the most successful scenario for the future. After three years of using the program, the Chicago urabn planners determined it was best to demolish any and all structures on the block, and make it into something recreational accessable to the public. Since the early 80s, Block 37 has been just that. Every winter, the city builds skating rink. In the spring, there is an outdoor art festival, which shows the work of Chicagoland artists and that of current students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (which is directly across the street). At other points of the year, it is host to a sundry of festivals and concerts.
After ten years of playing with Sim City, the Detroit urban planners came to the same result they had after just one year with the program: the only way to revitalise Detroit was to burn it down and start over.
I read about this in an introduction to one of Bob Thall's books (Thall makes photographs primarily of the urban landscapes of abandoned or crumbling Chicago). I can't remember which book, or who wrote the introduction, but it was definately a Thall book. There is a square-block smack in the center of downtown Chicago, Block 37, which had never been able to support any flourishing endeavour since approxametly the 1910s. Several movie theatres had been built on the site only to be host to a riot, or burned down (at least two burned to the ground). Arcades sprung up in the 1970s, but were often the centres of violence and drug deals. Many of them closed due to decreasing economic stability. Basically, everything that had been built there was unsuccessful.
In the late 70s, the city of Chicago commissioned a team of urban planners to figure out what was wrong with this block, and how to make it successful. The Chicago urban planners contacted Detroit urban planners who had developed a program called Sim City, in which they could program in the history of that piece of land to get the most successful scenario for the future. After three years of using the program, the Chicago urabn planners determined it was best to demolish any and all structures on the block, and make it into something recreational accessable to the public. Since the early 80s, Block 37 has been just that. Every winter, the city builds skating rink. In the spring, there is an outdoor art festival, which shows the work of Chicagoland artists and that of current students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (which is directly across the street). At other points of the year, it is host to a sundry of festivals and concerts.
After ten years of playing with Sim City, the Detroit urban planners came to the same result they had after just one year with the program: the only way to revitalise Detroit was to burn it down and start over.
1 Comments:
Thanks for the facsinating historty of Sim City. I had no idea. It does make a lot of sense.
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