The title of this entry is inspired by the title of Neil Gaiman’s book containing short fiction stories: http://www.amazon.com/Fragile-Things-Short-Fictions-Wonders/dp/0060515236/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_3. I particularly like the one on emperor of China who build a model of his emperium as an island. Just have a look at it – there are many threads closely connected with the considerations on modelling and simulations in urban planning.
“The tale is the map which is the territory. You must remember this.
There was an emperor of China almost two thousand years ago who became obssessed by the notion of mapping the land that he ruled. He had China re-created in miniature on an island which he had constructed at great expense and, incidentally, a certain amount of loss of life (for the water was deep and cold) in a lake in the imperial estates. (…)”
To conlude – I just place myself among the followers of Subhrajit Guhathakurta, the author of an important (in my opinion) paper: Urban modelling as storytelling: using simulation models as a narrative: http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/259/ I am convinced that making a model, drawing a picture and telling a story is a part of the process of communication which has the addressee and a channel of communication. The channel as well as the form of communication must be chosen in a way which is appropriate to the given situation. etc, etc. Thus modelling is only a method to achieve a goal not the goal itself.
Malgorzata Hanzl __Personal blog 