Urban Dynamics: Applications as a Teaching Tool and as an Urban Game

With some modifications Forrester's characterization of an urban system can be used in several ways in a curriculum such as that in the School of Urban and Public Affairs at Carnegie-Mellon University. The model can be expanded to comprehend several neighborhoods, and then used either in the way a laboratory experience is used as an adjunct to a physical science course, or as a basis for a do-it-yourself simulation. In addition, the model can be made open-ended and become the nucleus of an urban game. This paper outlines a proposal for using Urban Dynamics [1] in each of these modes and details some of the modifications needed to implement these applications.