Drexel-SDP GK-12 ACTIVITY
Subject areas: physical science, life science (Landforms, Environments)
Unit title: Exploring Engineering with SimCity 4
Activity title: Humans and the Environment (Activity 3 of 3)
Grade level: 6
Time required: extended activity (at least three 60 minute lessons)
Keywords: civil engineering, city planning, pollution, graphing, data, trends
Educational standards:
3.1.7B, 3.1.7D, 3.2.7B, 3.3.7D, 3.5.7A, 3.6.7B, 3.8.7C, 4.6…A, 4.7.7A, 4.7.7B
Concept/Vocabulary
In the third component of this module, students will add a human component to the natural
environments they have assembled by constructing and maintaining towns and cities on their
landscapes.
•
•
•
•
•
•
city planning
congestion
population density
traffic design
environmental engineering
zoning
•
•
•
•
•
•
solar power
wind power
fossil fuel power
water treatment
waste management
recycling
Objectives
Students will…
• use SimCity 4 software to explore and develop landform and environment concepts.
• describe scale as a form of ratio and apply it to a life situation.
• apply models to predict specific results and observations.
• design and engineer successful rural, suburban, and/or urban environments around natural
landforms
Materials
These activities require SimCity 4 software, published by Electronic Arts/Aspyr. Please see Carving
Canals (Activity 1 in this module series) for more detailed information.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
In the first two activities, students have learned the basics of landform creation using SimCity’s
Terraform and Terrain Effects tools.
Now, they are ready to become mayors of their own towns! Students will plan their cities around
the natural environments they have created. Their object will be to design thriving villages, towns,
and cities that adapt to and make use of the landforms present in their landscapes, while preserving
as much of nature as possible.
Although this is a fun and engaging game, it is also a very powerful software simulator. The tasks
should be presented to the students as design challenges, rather than game play. They will work in
teams to design and engineer their cities and civilizations.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR TEACHERS
Activity 3: HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Part I: Basic Mayor Mode Tutorial
• Students should once again launch the SimCity 4 software. In the default Region View, they
should select a piece of terrain to begin a new city.
• Once a plot of land has been chosen, students may adjust its landforms as they see fit, using skills
developed in Activity 1 and Activity 2.
• When the students are satisfied with the landscape, it is time to enter the Mayor Mode of the
game. After this point, any further changes to the terrain will cost money (as in the real world!)
Select the Mayor Mode button
from the toolbar. They will be
asked to name their new city and
its mayor.
• Once the city has been named, a new set of control toolkits will appear along the left edge of the
screen. From top to bottom, they include:
Landscape Tools: These include the familiar terraform and terrain effects tools,
with one important difference – now when the students change the environment by
leveling grades, creating inclines, or digging holes, the changes will cost money (just
as they would for a real civil engineer).
Zoning Tools: These tools allow the students to plan their cities by zoning areas as
residential (green), commercial (blue), and industrial/agricultural (yellow). Zones
are further divided into low, medium, and high densities, each of which allows
different classes of buildings to be constructed. Students must balance each type of
development according to their own plans for the city, as well as demand.
Transportation Tools: Students will have to design the roads and highways that
cross their towns. In later stages of the game, freeways, railways, airports, and
marine terminals can be incorporated into their cities. Students will have be called
upon to maintain smooth flow of traffic as their cities grow.
Utilities Tools: These tools include power and water systems, as well as waste
management. Students will have to make decisions about which types of electrical
plants they will place in their cities, the delivery of water, and how trash and
recycling will be managed. They must take into account their current budgets, as
well as environmental and social factors.
Civic Tools: These include fire and police protection, education and healthcare
systems, government buildings and landmarks, as well as parks, gardens, and public
recreation areas. Students will have to provide for the common welfare of their
growing populations, while at the same time maintaining the budget and their own
popularity among their citizens.
Bulldoze: This tool allows students to demolish structures.
• Other important controls appear along the bottom edge of the screen:
The Query tool can be used to provide information about a particular building or
other structure, and the Query Route tool gives information about roadways and
other transportation routes to better aid in transit planning.
The game speed controls are used to change the rate at which time passes.
This portion of the toolbar shows the students’ current mayoral ratings, the
amount of money in the city coffers, the number of citizens, and the demand for
residential (green), commercial (blue), and industrial/agricultural (yellow)
property.
Students manage the city finances using
the Budget Panel. Clicking in the
Current Balance area will cause the
Monthly Budget window to expand
upward. This is the area where students
manage monthly income and expenses.
The City Opinion Polls button will give
information about the current success of
the city design from a variety of
perspective
s.
The Data Views and Graphs tools
give information about current
specific conditions in the town, such
as income levels and crime statistics.
The Advisor Panel provides
advice from a City Planner,
Financial Advisor, Utilities Advisor,
Public Safety Advisor, Health and
Education Advisor, Transportation
Advisor, and Environmental
Advisor.
Activity 3: HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Part I: Engineering a City
• Students may wish to begin to develop small farm towns. These towns may require fewer services
to be successful. Students will have to zone mostly residential and agricultural land, plan roads
and highways, and provide basic services like power and small schools.
Students may be surprised to learn that
agricultural industry produces a fair
amount of pollution. This simple coaldriven power plant is sufficient for this
small community, although it is rather
dirty. Water shortages can be
overcome by supplying the town with a
few water towers.
• As the students become more proficient with the simulation, they can move on to moderately
larger towns. They will need to design more complex roadways, often with basic public
transportation like buses. More services will be required, such as police and fire stations, hositals,
and more varied commercial and industrial zoning.
This larger town features development on
terrain of various elevations. Wind energy
is used to provide much of the community’s
electrical needs. An increase in population
is coupled with higher pollution,
necessitating a water treatment plant near
the river.
• As the towns grow into small cities, students must design more efficient travel routes to
accommodate the growing population. Services like colleges, museums, more advanced public
transit systems, and green spaces must be paid for using good budgeting skills and revenue
generation.
For small cities to succeed, there
must be a good mix of residential,
commercial, and industrial
properties, all connected by efficient
and fast roadways and other
transportation systems. For
businesses and industries to thrive,
their employees must have access
to sufficient education, recreation,
healthcare, and protection services.
As neighborhoods grow, the
students must ensure that
local services remain
adequate funded in the
budget – or else they risk
scenarios like a teacher
strike at this overcrowded
high school!
• As smaller cities are developed into larger metropolitan areas, students must take extra care in their
designs. These metropolises can have a variety of different architectural styles, extensive bridge
and expressway systems, commercial and industrial water transportation, and advanced train and
monorail systems.
Multiple bridge designs for a variety
of different traffic types span the
waterways to connect different
parts of the city.
Air pollution can be offset by better
environmental engineering efforts,
including recycling plants, solar and
wind energy, incentives for carpooling
and public transit, and the planting of
more trees.
Water lines are routed
beneath roadways and
beneath the riverbed to carry
water from reservoirs to all
areas of the city to stave off
drought.
DESIGN CHALLENGES
• Construct the first town with 250,000
citizens
• Develop the first city with a subway
station that is used to at least 40% of its
capacity
• Grow your city’s high tech industry that
includes semiconductor plants
• Have all you’re city’s neighborhoods “in
the green” in the Data Views panel for
healthcare and education
• Design a city whose citizens request an
airport
• Be the first to have a bus terminal at over 100% capacity.
• Construct a city with a park or green space near every neighborhood
• Engineer a road system with all roads “in the green” (no congestion) in the Data Views panel.
• Plant a variety of different trees throughout your city.
• Design a “New Philadelphia” that incorporates your favorite parts of our own city.
• Have fun!!!
Owner: Drexel University GK-12 program, Engineering as a Contextual Vehicle for Science and
Mathematics Education, supported in part by National Science Foundation Award No. DGE-0538476
Author: Matthew D. Cathell
Copyright: Copyright 2007 by Matthew D. Cathell