What can a parcel simulation teach us about planning—and what evidence is missing?
Select a palette item, then click or tap a parcel to place it. Select the same item and tap that parcel again to remove it. Nearby parcels receive overlapping circular influences in this authored 16 × 12 model. The score is a rounded average of simulated parcel values, not a measured neighborhood health, safety or resilience index.
All radii, modifiers, thresholds and neighbor effects are invented for exploration. No costs, ownership, zoning, contamination, displacement, resident preferences or observed intervention outcomes are modeled. The palette categories do not establish that one real project is superior to another. Source guidance informs the planning questions, not these coefficients.
A garden has modifier −0.55 and radius 3 model cells. At its own parcel, with no other interventions or neighbors below 40, one update adds −(−0.55) × 5 −0.02 = 2.73 points. At distance 1, falloff is 1 − 1/(3 + 1) = 0.75, so the addition is 2.0425. Each neighboring parcel below 40 subtracts another 0.05; values are clamped to 0–100.
Each update sums modifier × (1 − distance/(radius+1)) for placed items within their radius, multiplies the negative sum by 5, subtracts 0.05 per neighboring parcel below 40 and subtracts 0.02. Eight adjacent neighbors can contribute; updates use the previous parcel values simultaneously. Health colors use thresholds 40 and 70; black markers appear below 45. These are authored display rules.
The clock advances one labeled step every 800 milliseconds, so 60 steps take about 48 seconds of active execution. The slider changes only the counter and pauses: it does not rewind or fast-forward parcel health. Resume continues from the currently displayed parcels. Replay and Reset generate fresh random starting health; Reset also clears saved placements. Local save stores placement coordinates and item IDs, not health or elapsed time. Reload restores placements onto a fresh randomized block. Export is a 1200 × 630 PNG snapshot, not an approved redevelopment plan.
Before choosing a real reuse, ask residents which outcomes matter, identify site constraints and compare feasible alternatives. EPA’s brownfields guidance calls for community involvement and site reuse or land-use assessment. A high simulated score cannot answer whether a site is suitable for a garden or whether residents prefer that use. EPA: Six community actions for brownfields revitalization
For a proposed green-infrastructure project, specify the actual outcome to monitor, such as runoff captured, and how it will be funded and maintained. EPA emphasizes community voices throughout planning and implementation; installation and continuing maintenance affect whether infrastructure functions as designed. A community garden in this palette is not automatically a designed stormwater system. EPA: Green infrastructure planning and implementation EPA: Installation, operation and maintenance
Community involvement, site reuse assessment and feasibility.
Planning, financing and community participation.
Construction and continuing maintenance requirements.