SimCity vs. Utopian Cities — What We Keep Getting Wrong

SimCity isn’t just a game. It’s a philosophy — one built on utopian ideals, broken dreams, and planning myths that still shape our cities today. From Garden Cities to Broadacre sprawls, this video breaks down the utopian visions that inspired SimCity — and why both the game and the real cities often fail. Along the way, we explore what urban designers can learn from these beautifully flawed ideas. 📌 Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 00:30 – What SimCity Is Really Teaching 01:15 – The Garden City Dream 02:00 – Le Corbusier and The Radiant City 02:50 – Broadacre and the Anti-Urban Ideal 03:35 – Brasilia and Monumental Utopias 04:13 – Why Utopias Always Go Wrong 04:43 – What SimCity Actually Gets Right 05:04 – Real Cities Still Follow These Rules 05:35 – Toward a Better Urban Future 05:55 – Top Comments 📚 References & further reading: Howard, E. (1898). Garden Cities of To-Morrow. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Le Corbusier. (1935). The Radiant City: Elements of a Doctrine of Urbanism to Be Used as the Basis of Our Machine-Age Civilization. Orion Press. Wright, F. L. (1932). The Disappearing City. New York: William Farquhar Payson. Holston, J. (1989). The Modernist City: An Anthropological Critique of Brasília. University of Chicago Press. Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House. Koolhaas, R. (1978). Delirious New York. Oxford University Press. Grant, J. (2006). Planning the Good Community: New Urbanism in Theory and Practice. Routledge. https://www.archdaily.com/411878/ad-classics-ville-radieuse-le-corbusier?ad_medium=office_landing&ad_name=article https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/apr/22/pruitt-igoe-high-rise-urban-america-history-cities#img-4 https://arquiscopio.com/archivo/2013/08/10/broadacre-city/?lang=en https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Partial_view_of_the_Federal_District,_Brazil_seen_from_space_in_2015.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BSB_02_2013_Eixo_Monumental_5884.JPG https://www.visitarizona.com/places/cities/phoenix/ https://www.businesseventsperth.com/listing/city-of-perth/811/ https://perfectwildernesstours.com/product/day-tour-at-the-nairobi-city-center/ https://www.iaa-mobility.com/en/newsroom/news/sustainability/shenzen-the-city-of-green-future https://www.archdaily.com/962924/building-a-city-from-scratch-the-story-of-songdo-korea https://www.tomorrow.city/neom-saudi-arabia/ https://www.neom.com/en-us/regions/theline https://loveletchworth.com/about-and-history/ https://one.welhat.gov.uk/borough/heritage-1 https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Planalto_Central_(cropped).jpg#mw-jump-to-license https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bras%C3%ADlia-em-1964.jpg#mw-jump-to-license #UrbanDesign #SimCity #CityPlanning #UtopianCities #UrbanDecode