'SimCity' Isn't a Model of Reality. It's a Libertarian Toy Land

SimCity, a popular city-building simulation game, has had a significant impact on real-world urban design. The game's realistic simulations of complex city systems have influenced urban planning in a number of ways, from transportation and zoning to energy and environmental policy. City planners and engineers around the world have used the game as a tool for teaching and learning about the complexities of city planning. The game has also inspired many people to pursue careers in urban planning and engineering, and has helped to educate the public about the challenges and complexities of designing and managing modern cities.

Jay Forrester's contributions to urban planning models include creating a method called Urban Dynamics in the 1960s and 1970s, which applied systems theory to urban planning using diagrams and computations12. His work focused on understanding and simulating complex urban systems, and his models suggested that most regulatory policies had detrimental effects on cities, advocating for free-market approaches instead6.