Like many landscape architects my age, I grew up cheating at SimCity. I’d type F-U-N-D, over and over, increasing my city’s general funds so I could provide all the parks, waterfalls, and other amenities I wanted for my denizens. I’d even develop interconnected park systems, inspired by Olmsted’s parkways in Buffalo, New York. Then, of course, I’d set fire to it all.
Well, it looks like a whole new generation of 10-year-olds will be able to be inspired by—and set fire to—sim cities. This month, the software company Maxis released a trailer for its first new edition of the game in nearly a decade—to be released in 2013. Word is the game will have a more regional focus and incorporate a variety of new environmental issues. Your city won’t just be subject to a nuclear meltdown but also the emissions from the coal power plant in the neighboring town. “If the old SimCity could nurture a generation of urban planners, perhaps its newest rendition will inspire tomorrow’s natural resource managers and environmental engineers,” writes Nathanael Massey on Scientific American’s ClimateWire. Or maybe they’ll split the difference, and we’ll end up with more landscape architects.
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