✍️ Vipin Trisal's Blog

As a long-time fan of management games like SimCity, Cities: Skylines, and Anno, I often find myself looking at real-world maps and imagining how I would plan a city. It's a creative exercise, a way to build worlds in my mind. Recently, one of these thought experiments took a strange and contemplative turn. ​It started, as it always does, with a grand vision. I imagined a new city, an urban utopia. In my city, the infrastructure would be flawless and all resources would be absolute. Residents would enjoy free electricity, free food, free healthcare, and free education. Wide, spacious lanes would make driving a pleasure, not a chore. As the benevolent mayor of this perfect city, I'd also ensure my citizens were well-entertained, in the way they wanted and when they wanted. For myself, I pictured a simple pleasure: driving up to the top of the hill next to the river on quiet nights to stargaze while listening to old Bollywood songs. ​As the city grew in my mind, I thought, "...