Blog Post 3: Concept Mapping

For my concept map, I began by categorizing different concepts we’ve discussed in class within the three planning dimensions: design, transportation, and the environment. In order to keep things easy to follow, I chose a different color for each planning dimension. Under transportation, for example, I fit pedestrians, public transit, self-owned cars, and traffic circulation. Then I added things I felt stemmed from these elements to be more specific. I further divided public transport into two more categories: buses and trains, and forms of rapid transit like the metro and subway. After laying out the framework of my concept map for all three planning dimensions, I thought of how I could connect the dimensions to link things like transportation and the environment, transportation and design, and the environment and design. I was able to link the environment and transportation through emissions. Transportation options, like cars, planes, trains, and buses release emissions, and emissions are a form of pollution, and pollution impacts the environment. I think the concept map was interesting because it forced me to synthesize all that I have learned in class so far. In the third part of our textbook, each chapter focuses on one certain field of planning. Chapter 10 focuses on urban design, chapter 12 focuses on transportation planning, and chapter 15 focuses on environmental and energy planning. The textbook discusses the overlap between each planning field, and this assignment further emphasized the interconnectedness of the planning process.  

Overall, I would say the Cities: Skylines simulation effectively captures the interactions between the three planning dimensions. When you first begin your city, the first step is to create a network of roads (transportation) that you then zone around (design) and provide electricity and water to (environment). As you continue to develop your city through zoning and road building, your population rises, which in turn increases traffic and energy and water use. A rising population also calls for a public transportation system, which relates to the environment due to rising pollution and emissions. If I as a planner were to completely ignore one of the planning dimensions, the other two would fail to function. For example, If I heavily zone an area with high-density commercial and residential buildings, I must also make sure the roads lining the buildings can properly support the traffic cars will create, and I must make sure my public transportation routes pass through those heavily populated areas. I also need to think about if, in these areas, I am providing enough green space for my city’s inhabitants. Overall, while some elements of the simulation are inaccurate to the real world the simulation accurately depicts the interconnectedness of the three planning dimensions: design, transportation, and the environment.

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