This concept map summarizes how each concept affects a city and how they connect to one another. The 3 concepts we see in the map are Urban Design in the center, Transportation to the far left, and Natural environment on the right. Each play an important role in identifying whether a city is functional or not. As stated in the map, urban design, plays an important role in where buildings are placed, how many buildings can be planned into the city, and how they affect other areas of the city. If industrial buildings are placed near a residential zone, the residents could grow increasingly unhappy due to noise, lights, pollution, or general property value. Cities need to take into account businesses and their economic value to the city but also the quality of life for residents. Transportation is connected to urban design in many ways and the main focus in urban design is the flow of traffic and how to make travel time as efficient as possible. Transportation in the map explains that the over all traffic in a city impacts residents but also business productivity. In planning for reliable public transportation, there is potential for less traffic and less pollution which connects to the concept of the natural environment. The natural environment plays a large role in providing green spaces for residents, resources for the city, and jobs for residents. Maintaining a healthy and sustainable natural environment can help a city flourish and self sufficient.
Identifying these concepts and explaining how they connect is important in city planning. Without understanding these concepts and not taking into account how they connect to each other, planning can be difficult. As explained in the concept map, Natural resources can affect where industry buildings are located, but zoning and regulations as well as inadequate transportation can also affect where these buildings are placed. A lack of resource can also affect how a city plans for their utilities and zoning. This concept map shows how all these concepts connect and how they can impact the other.
The Cities: Skylines simulator effectively captures these interactions almost immediately and provides immediate feedback by showing how these affect the city’s utilities, pollution, and general flow affect the residents. If a road is removed from the city plan, the residents are immediately unhappy and the traffic rout for business or trucks that was previously in place is no longer there. This can cause more congestion in the next street over and unhappy residents. Another way that the city shows immediate feedback from through the simulator is the utility function. If there are not enough electricity electrical lines throughout the city or not a good connection, the residents and businesses suffer and could potentially abandon a building. This simulator is great in providing immediate response to a change in plans, utility lines, construction on new buildings, or new bus routes and helps in educating on how each affect the other.
I think that both of our concept maps are showing the same idea of how with these three concepts we can make the city works better. If we follow your map, the city will work great and it would also have a very bright future. I also think that while I was reading your blog, it made realized that if we apply all these takeaways of the city, we can also have a very successful city in the city skyline. I really like how you made the map have a great connection with the game, which makes a lot of sense to make a planner think that city skyline is not only a game but it could be a solution and an answer to many of the questions we face in reality. Great map!