So, can real world planning, and the mixed reality of virtual planning via Cities Skylines exist side by side? Wondered how your city and/or region works. Wondered what Planners do … Continue reading Ben goes Planning Part 4: State of Play between Digital Urban Simulator and Real World Planning by a Planner
Planning the engines of urban prosperity Wondered how your city and/or region works. Wondered what Planners do to enable (that is enable not disable) the ongoing evolution of your city … Continue reading Ben goes Planning Part 3: Marsden Point Economic Development Strategy: A Master Plan for Integrated Urban Development and Economic Growth
Also a recap into planners and how they can influence economic development Wondered how your city and/or region works. Wondered what Planners do to enable (that is enable not disable) … Continue reading Ben goes Planning Part 2: A Deeper Dive. Building Safer, More Connected Communities – A Policy Framework for Integrated Cycling Networks and 30 km/h Zones
The hidden logic behind the City’s Blue Print of Marsden Point Wondered how your city and/or region works. Wondered what Planners do to enable (that is enable not disable) the … Continue reading Ben Goes Planning Part 1: 5 Surprising Truths About How Your City Works (Learned from a Video Game)
So, was I the City Cereal King or just a Planner enabling the economic development of the city and/or region? Because while Marsden Point is in Cities Skylines 2, in real life while my main wheelhouse right now is Policy Planning or Land Use Planning, I draw upon other aspects of planning ensuring the best for the area I am representing and/or advocating for!
Using Urban Simulator to illustrate how cycling can work for you So, you have medium density being built in your city, businesses want to establish or expand as a consequence … Continue reading Making Cycling Work for YOU and Your City!
Reconnecting the lost art (and science) of city, town and community building! With all the chatter about housing, housing shortfalls, loneliness, and resistance to brownfield developments (intensification), it could be … Continue reading The Missing Middle: Enabling the Complete Package, including those Universal Connections!
The consequences of those deliberate choices made earlier on In developing Manukau City Centre in Cities Skylines 2 through my 3.x series, I pondered about how much complexity goes on … Continue reading The Very Definition of Planning Complexity
Aotearoa is diving headfirst into the National Standardised Zones (NSZs), ripping apart over 1,000 zoning categories to embrace a mere 17-20, mirroring Japan’s and Victoria’s models. This radical overhaul promises uniformity across cities, but is it truly beneficial? While gamers cherish the consistency of zones like those in Cities Skylines, the real question looms: Will this homogenization in planning stifle diversity and creativity in urban design?
Minister Christopher Bishop champions mixed-use development, citing global examples and touting its benefits for urban areas. He stresses its potential to enhance accessibility to amenities, promote social interaction, and improve transit efficiency. Bishop argues that mixed use can lead to better outcomes in traffic, pollution, productivity, and community cohesion. He also advocates for embracing low-density mixed use through terraced housing. This model integrates commercial or office spaces on the lower floors and residential units above.
Talking Southern Auckland 