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Is using games for real-life city planning a viable option to later apply in real life? I.e. if my city wanted to try out a new metro line, is replicating the c

• xavxav 2y ago
  Not really, conceptually it probably shares a lot of the same foundations that a useful simulator would have, but its important to keep in mind that they aren't actually simulators of cities in a realistic sense. Games such as cities, inherently embed a view of how the "right" city would be organized, providing tools and incentives to nudge you in that direction. Consider how all social problems can be solved by simply plopping down the relevant class of building nearby. Or simply the absence of parking lots! There's this old article on the subject: https://www.polygon.com/videos/2021/4/1/22352583/simcity-hidden-politics-ideology-urban-dynamics https://www.polygon.com/videos/2021/4/1/22352583/simcity-hid...
• icaruswept 2y ago
  Depends on how much of the games underlying assumptions you can overwrite, and of course the fidelity you’re going for. In our case we’ve modified everything from citizen lifecycles to traffic behaviour to population calculations based on square footage - but this is still more in the realm of “visualization and communication” than “professional planning tool”.
• Stevvo 2y ago
  For real life planning, many concept in Cities Skylines are also in professional software. e.g. in Autodesk Infraworks you can import roads, drag out a spline for a new metro line, then run a simulation to see the affect on traffic and other transport infrastructure.