How 'SimCity' Inspired a Generation of City Planners

Jessica Roy, writing for LA Times: Thirty years ago, Maxis released 'SimCity' for Mac and Amiga. It was succeeded by 'SimCity 2000' in 1993, 'SimCity 3000' in 1999, 'SimCity 4' in 2003, a version for the Nintendo DS in 2007, 'SimCity: BuildIt' in 2013 and an app launched in 2014. Along the way, the games have introduced millions of players to the joys and frustrations of zoning, street grids and infrastructure funding -- and influenced a generation of people who plan cities for a living.

For many urban and transit planners, architects, government officials and activists, 'SimCity' was their first taste of running a city. It was the first time they realized that neighborhoods, towns and cities were things that were planned, and that it was someone's job to decide where streets, schools, bus stops and stores were supposed to go.

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