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A higher-level education degree is a critical component of a prosperous lifestyle. It will guarantee abundance in savings, properties, financial gains and stability, and a healthy lifestyle, including their families. However, many fail to acknowledge that many college students’ social-economic status has impeded their pursuance of a college degree. Unfortunately, in the American job market, thousands of corporations require their employees to have minimum associates or bachelor’s degree to ensure the best quality workers to contribute to their corporations’ success in profit growth. Of course, a job or career is necessary in order to afford a comfortable lifestyle. Those with a higher-level education will be able to purchase more homes and property, health-care, better quality education for their children, and pay bills on time. Not only does this represent the individual American’s success, but it will also contribute to the American nation’s overall prosperity. The flaw is the Plutocratic American government that provides opportunities to the rich for a price allowing them and their offspring the luxurious life they hold. On the other hand, the lower-class still cannot afford the same accessibility, making it more challenging to succeed under their current living circumstances. Although there are compelling arguments against free-college, such as the billions of tax dollars both state and federal that would need to be invented into the budget for higher education to cover the free-tuition education, it would be a risky but smart move. Seeing as how this investment will bring about the end of student debt altogether, secure the quality of higher education and the amenities provided by these institutions, and improve the American economy. Most importantly, ensure that every student, regardless of their socio-economic background, will have the opportunity to further their education post-high-school without financial constraints.

Sidewalks. How do the sidewalks in the area feel? What sort of condition are the sidewalks in? Are there missing sidewalks or sidewalk gaps? What are some ways the sidewalks could be improved?

For the most important part, sidewalks felt even. Some areas had higher elevation than others but it wasn’t a massive difference. The condition of the sidewalks is good and they are well kept. The most you’ll find is a crack on the sidewalk but besides that nothing major. A way the sidewalks could be improved would be to make them more spacious. There are certain areas like in Cannon Dr where they seem to be too narrow.

Street width. Do streets appear to be an appropriate width? How does the street width affect traffic flow? Would it be better if the street were wider? How does the street width impact the existing character of the street?

There are certain streets where they are big enough to keep oncoming traffic moving. But then there are streets in which there is little space for cars to be able to move in without causing congestion. The way the width of the street impacts the character of the street is by showing the importance. By this, I am referring to how the major streets are the ones that tend to be wider, while the smaller streets aren’t nearly as wide.

Street safety. Do streets feel safe for pedestrian use? Are there sufficient safe street crossing opportunities? Is signal timing appropriate for pedestrian crossing phases? What are some ways street safety could be improved?

The streets do feel safe for pedestrian use. Throughout campus, there are various signs and lights that if followed provide an adequate amount of safety for the people walking. As for signal timing, I personally feel it is too short sometimes and cars tend to just run the red light if they don’t see students close to the crosswalk. A way the safety of the streets could be improved would be by finding a means of controlling the speed of cars on campus. One way this could be done would be by setting cameras to ensure cars aren’t speeding or running red lights.

Traffic flow. What are the traffic flow patterns? Is it one-way or two-way? Does this design seem appropriate for the area? Does the traffic speed seem safe? Do drivers appear to be adhering to traffic speed limits? What are some ways traffic flow could be improved?

The traffic flow seems to run rather smoothly in the smaller streets. While in the major streets there is a bit more congestion occurring. The smaller streets where different college buildings are located seem to be one way. Which is appropriate considering since it’s an area a lot of students would be using, minimizing the amount of traffic that occurs is the safest thing to do. Ways the traffic could be improved would be by blocking off more of the smaller streets within the campus or changing them to a one way so that they don’t get so filled with traffic.

Setbacks. Do the setbacks of properties seem appropriate? How do setbacks differ for different properties? How do these differences affect the character of the neighbourhood?

The setbacks for the buildings do seem appropriate considering the ones located on the main streets have larger setback areas. While the smaller buildings such as the ones by the oval have a smaller setback area. These differences affect the character of the neighborhood by allowing how much activity can go on there. For example, Knowlton has a large setback that allows certain classes to occur outside, as long as they are following the social distance guidelines. So the extra space adds to how much people will actually use that area on a day to day basis.

Building use. Does building use make sense? Does the use of any buildings seem to be out of sync with other uses in the area? Are building uses appropriate for the location? Why or why not?

The buildings for the most part do make sense and appear to be in sync with other areas. There are certain buildings that are taller and or longer but I feel that is directly related to how much students and staff use that building. As for their location, the buildings are in a convenient and accessible location for most students. There are streets that separate these buildings but even then they don’t pose any significant danger for students.

Parking. Does there appear to be sufficient amount of parking? Does the configuration seem appropriate and functional? Would you change anything about the parking layout? What are some ways parking could be improved?

Yes throughout campus there are various parking lots for cars to use. Even buildings have their own smaller parking lots that they can use. The way the parking lots are set does appear to be functional. Since they mainly appear in the major streets but if they appear in a smaller street it’s right in the entrance or close to where the street begins. If I could change/improve something about the parking lots would be to make them appear more pleasing to the eye since they all tend to look the same. As well as make a section that’s free parking for people to use.

Accessibility. How is the city designed in terms of accessibility for persons with disabilities? Are there sufficient curb ramps? Can you identify ways that the area can be more inclusive of diverse needs?

The city is designed in a way that could help people who have disabilities. But besides that, there aren’t a lot of buildings that appear to have curb ramps to get into them. While some are present when I was walking around campus it wasn’t that common for me to run into one. A way they are can be more inclusive is to have less steep or elevated areas where buildings are located. Since this could be an obstacle for people with certain disabilities.

Green Space. How much or how little is there in comparison to the buildings? How is the space available for use, that is, places to sit and stay in that space awhile versus paths for just walking through? What are the effects of having or not having adequate green/open space?

The green space throughout campus has a good ratio of the number of buildings that are present. The green space that is available has plenty of trees planted and open land that can be used for all sorts of recreation. The places in which you can stay and work have benches and tables set for people to use, while sidewalks or parts of the buildings that have green space just have trees and other plant life planted. The effect of having an adequate amount of green space is that it adds more life to campus. By this, I am referring to how the green space brings in more life to the school such as plants and wildlife. Not only that but it encourages people to go out and walk or do their work outside.

The name of my city is fourth charm. My city name for my city came from the common term of third times a charm, but since it took me four times to properly establish a city I decided to incorporate it into the name of my city. The way my city has evolved since the beginning is that I’ve been able to successfully grow each individual zoning area. Apart from that I’ve been able to expand the city and include a range of new features that would benefit the people in the city as a whole in and making it run smoother and more efficiently. As of right now, my city is short of 5000 residents considering that my city is fairly new since the file that had previously saved my city was corrupted and unable to load. The way my city has been able to change over time was through the expansion. Being able to grow and expand my city allowed me to attract more residents which resulted in more revenue being produced. Another way my city has changed over time was that now I have the ability to create districts. This allowed me to take advantage of my city’s natural resources and establish a farming district. This brought more people causing a small boom in population. Although the maintenance price for my city has increased the revenue being brought in increased drastically as well allowing the city to still function properly.

The goal of the built environment in my city is to be able to maximize efficiency while keeping the cost at a relatively low or reasonable price. One strength of my built environment in my city is that it is not negatively affecting how my city is operating. By this I am referring too how the zoning and the location of certain city utilities aren’t negatively impacting the residents. A weakness to this is there will be a point in which there isn’t enough space to meet the increasing demand of the people. But an opportunity from that would be that the land can be repurposed and might even help the economic development. A weakness would be that not enough buildings or resources would be provided in time resulting in people just not wanting to stay. A way I’ll address this issue will be by monitoring how the built environment is progressing and if it starts to decline find a way that I can prevent it from dropping even more.

One goal for the housing development in my city is To ensure that The industrial and commercial zones don’t affect or produce any health hazards for the residential area in my city. One strength that comes from this plan is that throughout the city the residential area Is a considerable distance away from the industrial zone which is the leading pollution factor in my city as of right now. But is relatively closer to the commercial area. By doing this I am able to limit the number of negative health effects that the pollution may create for any of the residents living near that section of the city. A weakness that derives from this plan is that it limits the total amount of area in my city that could be used for industrial and commercial zoning. Which will result in less revenue being brought into my city. An opportunity with having an increased amount of housing is that there will be more open land for people to come in and build. A threat to having an excess amount of housing is that due to not having enough jobs available people might start to leave which would leave my city with a significant amount of abandoned homes and empty areas/lot that I would have to re-purpose. The way I will combat these issues will be through Limiting the amount of housing that I create especially if it’s not in high demand.

A strength of the economic development of my city is able to produce enough revenue back to pay off the debt that I have accumulated. Since the beginning of my simulation, I had to take out both the loan of 20,000 and 60,000 and have yet to repay it. A strength from my economic development is that due to my recent expansion I have been able to create more Industrial and commercial zones within my city. These new industrial and commercial zones, although relatively small, have brought in more income to my city and even attracted more people to come causing a minor population boom to occur. A weakness in my economic development is that currently there isn’t any more space that could be used for industrial and commercial zoning. This then leads to a job shortage and residents begin to move out. An opportunity that presents itself with economic development is that it is going in an upward trend. By this I am referring to that I have not experienced any significant shortage in revenue or residents in my city. So every time I sit he grows the amount of money and people go with it. One threat to this is that there will be a lack of resources available within my city. But a way to address that would be to not use of every single piece of land that I have has industrial, commercial, or housing zoning. But instead to ensure I still have enough room for other activities and services for my city so I can maintain itself aflow.

A goal for transportation in my city is to limit, I limit the congestion that occurs with the traffic. One strength that I currently have with my city is that there isn’t a lot of problems with the flow of traffic it runs rather smoothly and there’s never an issue/ accidents that may cause any form of congestion to occur. A weakness that I have is that I currently do not have any traffic light system set up to control the flow of traffic. But an opportunity that comes out of this is that I am able to see through the city what areas or blocks would require the traffic light system to be put once available. This would then ensure the safety of the residents of my city because fewer accidents will occur. A threat to this possibility is that by the time that my city establishes a traffic light system or any other form of control in traffic far too many accidents would have already occurred resulting in the death or injury of a lot of my residence within the community. The way I am currently dealing with this issue is by limiting the amount of housing and stores being built alongside the road. This causes less traffic to occur within those areas and limits the number of accidents that will most likely happen.

My goal for the community service and utilities is to have an equal amount of resources distributed across the entire city. By this, I am referring to having an equal amount of fire stations police stations hospitals, and other necessities like that dispersed throughout the city. As for utilities the water pipes and electricity run through the entire city cover in every major area that has people located within it. Every time the city expands the first thing that goes along with it is the water pipes and ensures that some form of electricity is provided so that it does not hinder the possibility of people moving in and beginning to build. One strength is that currently all major community resources are located in the highly populated areas of my city. So that affects the overall health and well-being of all the citizens in a good way since everything that they need is in a convenient location for them. One weakness is that currently, the industrial and commercial side of the city doesn’t have a nearby fire station or a police station to help out whenever there’s a fire or a robbery. So this then causes the city to lose money because of people moving out due to the high crime rate in the area or because buildings burned down and are probably put out in time and the fire might spread. But one opportunity that comes from this is that The major parts of the city our well covered so when I’m playing new community service in your 30s other areas it’s it becomes easier to see what part really needs it and what part doesn’t. A drug that can come from this is that not enough stations would be open time to prevent the climate from increasing or to prevent more buildings from burning down. A way to address this issue would be to begin looking for available areas near the induction commercial somewhere on PlayStation or hospital or fire station can we please for the convenience of the workers there and the people surrounding them. 

As for parks, a goal is to have more perks established in the city since they promote the general well-being of the people. A strength would be that having parks and recreation relates to the overall economic growth because I have an apartment by creates the land to become more desirable for people to move in. One weakness currently is the parks might be taking up space within certain zones that could be used to increase the overall profit that the city is making. One opportunity with this though is that as we begin to settle down more schools it has an opportunity for also increasing the number of parks and recreational areas we have. This would then allow those residents of the schools and or the area nearby to have something to do which would make them happy. Wondra is that if my Honda circulation flow of the streets nearby especially if the park is located in a major street. This can also cause more health problems since having a park in a busy street can lead to accidents and possibly even death. The way I will address this issue would be keeping the parks in a relatively small street or in a location where the flow of traffic is relatively smooth and wouldn’t really be affected by the addition of a park.

A goal for the natural environment is to be able to maintain a clean environment and not use up all of the resources available. One strength of this would be that a lot of the citizens would be happy that the city is keeping a green environment and is it causing a large amount of pollution to occur. A weakness of this plan is that as the city grows the natural environment will begin to be depleted. This would be in order to make more room for the cities utilities and new zoning areas. An opportunity of maintaining the natural environment is that it can be used as more a recreational area such as a park with trees or a dog park. A threat to this plan would be that the city becomes too busy and there isn’t enough room to maintain the natural environment. An action I will take in order to address this issue is by not using up all of the city’s natural environment and resources. That way there is still room for the city to use them.

One goal is to grow the city to the point where I can begin setting office zones and high-density zones as well. One strength to this would be that it would make the city more desirable for people to come in and build. A weakness would be that there is the possibility of having to take out another loan in order to have enough money for the future services the city would require. An opportunity would be that more money would be coming into the city via the taxes that all the new residents would be bringing in. A threat would be that I would have to increase the taxes in order to make sure my city doesn’t go bankrupt, which could upset a lot of residents. The way I’ll address this issue will be by taking out the loan if it’s an absolute necessity as well as by finding a middle ground for the taxes. That way the residents aren’t affected too much and the businesses will have a slightly higher tax that would bring in extra money.

The way I’ll achieve all of these goals will be by closely monitoring how my city is progressing. Although this is broad answer I feel that monitoring the trends of the city can help me decide where in what direction I should take my city next. Through the various tools that City Skylines offer, I can see the genreal weel being of my residents, the economy of my city among other things. So by using this tool it can help me decide in what areas I shoud focus / invest more into. So if it’s giving me the opportunity to monitor major thing going on in my city then it should be used.

The way this compares to reality is that it seems to only capture the bare minimum of the experience a real city planner would would go through. By this I am reffering too how in reality there are slim to no chances that a city planner would be able to design a city in their image. It also doesn’t provide the same experience since in the simulation you can prevent and fix problems as they are ocurring, while in reality if that were too hapen it would sadly take years to barely even notice these issues let alone fix them. But there are certain aspects of the palnning process that can be found within the simulation such as formulating the plan, implementing the plan, and reviewing/updating the plan. In this case formulating the plan, implementing the plan, and reviewing/updating would go hand in hand. Since formulating the plan can be seen as the the cities we created before that went bankrupt. Then implementng the plan would be taking what worked from the previous one into the next city created. Lastly the reviewing and updating happens as we make new cities or build upon the one we currently have. Aspects that don’t really transfer over are things such as the community goals since there isnt a clear way to engage with the community besides the twitter feed. As well as the research behind the cities that are being created since there isn’t muh information available for us to use. While in reality city planners have decades of reasearch and information they can learn from to implent in how they design certain aspects of cities. So even though the smilutaion provides a general insight into city planning it does not cover the more minor details that would normally be applied to designing a city or community.

Hey,

I am Jesus Rodriguez Herrera, I am from Chicago, Illinois. I intend for my major to be City and Urban Planning. I decided to take this class because it seemed really interesting and a mentor of mine from JP Morgan Chase told me to look into this career. My favorite is Chicago, there might be some bias in there but there’s nothing like the view of the lake in downtown Chicago and there is so much culture in my city. I hope to meet more people and connect!