Urban Planning

Blocks & Lots - The Game

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Blocks & Lots is a free game

Download or play online

Welcome to Solano Heights!

Your job is to rezone the neighborhood to improve the lives of the people who live and work there.

Read about how they made the game.

The article describes our experience and what we learned from making the game. It ends with a discussion about how learning more about games and game-making can help us become better popular educators and develop the kind of eco-systems thinking that is needed to address our most daunting urban problems.

FACILITATOR’S GUIDE to Blocks & Lots Game


Voters on JAYISGAME, (a game rating site) gave Blocks & Lots a 4.4 out of 5 rating.

Planning Commission of Solano Heights needs your help wrangling the stakeholders in the city's development and finding the layout that best suits everyone's needs... if there is one.

- Jay is Game


Blocks & Lots was produced by a creative team consisting of Esperanza Community Housing CorporationRosten Woo, and Dr. Pop, with the help of super-coder Jared Sain.

What is a Land Planner?

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A planner is a specially trained and experienced individual who possesses a unique combination of knowledge and analytical ability, as well as strong communication and presentation skills.

Planners research and gather data from a large variety of sources, recognize various environmental and regulatory constraints, and formulate and analyze various site design scenarios as part of helping clients make informed decisions regarding land development.

Writing and effective verbal skills are an important part of a planner’s role, as presentations are frequently needed to share information with clients, other professional consultants, business groups, neighborhood groups, staff members, advisory board members, and elected officials.  Planners can also be called upon to facilitate meetings and mediate disputes as needed.

Managing people, projects, and processes are all key parts of a planner’s role, along with supplying the disciplined strategic thinking needed to navigate complex processes with multivariable options.