For millions of gamers and students alike, city building games (CBGs) like SimCity and the more recent Cities: Skylines present a compelling initial introduction to the world of urban planning and development. As such, these games have great potential to shape players' understanding and expectations of real urban patterns and processes. In this…

Investigates the validity of the stereotype that a city can be measured by its skyline by looking at the skyline boom of the 1960s, components of a skyline, factors of its importance, and ranking U.S. cities by their skylines. (ND)

The urban housetype and attitudes towards the urban housetype are used to illustrate the concentric zone model and to shed some light on such zonal concepts as the inner city and suburban ring. (Author)

The author describes efforts made by the Geography Department of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to provide an undergraduate geography major that emphasizes city and regional planning, an area with job potential. (JH)

For teaching about urban geography, it is suggested that students first examine self-contained buildings and treat them as miniature cities, then advance to more traditional concerns of the discipline. (Author/ND)

An exercise for high school students based on urban-oriented density measures involves calculation of gross and net population densities, lot coverage ratios, and floor space indices. (Author/AV)

Describes plans for future urban development which take into account energy needs, mass transportation, technological innovations, high density settlement along the rapid transit spine, and rational decision making. (Author/DB)

Explains how studying a floodplain can help students analyze the interactions between humans and the physical environment. Analyzes data from two cities in California to demonstrate that housing prices did not rebound after a flood. (GG)

In the course of history, the Toronto, Canada, landscape has acquired many interesting and attractive features. The history of its urban renewal projects, suburban expansion, inner city change, residential preservation and stabilization, and central city development is examined. (RM)

Reviews some of the key changes affecting the Chicago region and examines the degree to which they have or have not altered the evolving spatial structure of metropolitan Chicago. Traces the historical legacy, economic matrix, and shifting social patterns, concluding Chicago has more human/urban depth than most western metropolises. (TRS)

Asserts that a common problem facing educators is finding suitable pedagogical tools that capture the realities of cities in developing countries. Presents a role-playing simulation exercise that supplements and complements the case study approach to this topic. (CFR)

Discusses the development and implementation of a simulation game for a sixth-grade class that used the structure of Thornton Wilder's play, "Our Town," to examine the geographical issues involved in community planning. The land development issue discussed was based on a real-life local concern. (MJP)