METRO-APEX is unique among major computer-assisted simulations in depicting complex urban life, and the responsibilities and rewards of involved citizenship.

      There is little doubt that the quality of today's world, and the world of the future, will reflect the extent of people's capability to view and understand reality in more systemic, interrelated terms. The basic ideas of a system, inter-system interaction, cause and effect, and inter-system relationships are concepts that serve to describe real behaviors observable in any human system of whatever magnitude. Unfortunately, local, national and international problems continue to be viewed in reductionistic, non- relational terms. Too often, independent, unilateral decisions are made and actions taken with little understanding of, or regard for, their impact on other systems and human groups. As a consequence, both policy formation and decision-making activities in public and private sectors are basically reactive and often short-lived in nature. Administrative life continues to be characterized by "continual fire-fighting," "keeping your head above water," and "hanging in there."

      Problems narrowly defined and unsystematically addressed do not reflect the basic reality of social, political and administrative life. Their continuing to be so defined is a major cause of inter-system confusion and recurring problems.

      Primary responsibility for helping to enlarge perspectives and improve problem-solving methods lies with leading learning institutions. Regrettably, many colleges and universities remain focused on discrete disciplines of study. In addition, the use of experiential learning techniques remains the exception in these institutions. Course content and teaching processes are often delivered in traditional didactic ways. As a result, current and future administrators and policy-makers are denied educational experiences emphasizing multidimensional, experiential approaches to studying social and community problems in an interactive and personally involved manner.

      For over twenty-five years, the METRO-APEX simulation game has been a highly successful learning vehicle in addressing this very problem. Initially funded in the mid-1960's under Ford Foundation and U.S. Public Health Service grants to study environmental issues, its models have been expanded through time to include a variety of system problems found in any large urban community. The overall purpose of METRO-APEX is to demonstrate to students, practitioners and other participants how alternative chains of decisions affect the pattern of metropolitan growth over a period of years. It provides the opportunity for social interaction and problem-solving within a hypothetical environment structured largely by data supplied through sophisticated simulation models. In essence, METRO-APEX is a laboratory community which replicates the problems, pressures, issues, and opportunities prevalent in most U.S. communities. Within this hypothetical community, participants must deal with emerging problems, plan for the future, settle differences, implement programs, and take responsibility for the social, political, and economic ramifications of their actions.

      Originally designed to train people in the environmental management field, it has since been adapted for use in a wide variety of disciplines. It has been used at graduate and undergraduate levels in the study of urban and regional planning, engineering, law, public administration, geography and sociology.

      METRO-APEX has also been used as a means for intensive examination of several public issues including the tax referendum in California, environmental legislation in Illinois and health planning in Arizona. Over the past two decades, METRO-APEX has been used by such diverse clients as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Defense, Transportation, and Health and Human Services. It has been administered internationally in Holland, Great Britain, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico and Thailand. METRO-APEX was also the subject of a film documentary on innovative uses of computers in education.

      Players are assigned a role of a principal decision maker from the public and private sector including politicians, planners, industrialists, real estate developers, environmental quality managers, news media personnel and citizen organizations. The participants come to know first-hand the frustrations, rewards and successes associated with working collectively to solve complex urban problems.

      Players have to make individual and joint decisions during each three to four hour session that represents one year. At the end of each session, decisions are input into computer programs that simulate the environment. In 1987 using funds from IBM's Advanced Education Projects grant to USC (Project Socrates), the program was ported from the IBM 370 mainframe to run on an IBM PC-AT. After processing, printout copies of the results are distributed to the participants, and the evolving scenario is set for the next cycle of play. As each succeeding session begins, the players are confronted by conditions created partly by their previous decisions and partly by variables over which they have no control. The power of METRO-APEX lies in its ability to demonstrate how decisions affect individuals and groups in a society, and how these decisions impact metropolitan growth and community life itself over a period of years.

For more information about METRO-APEX, contact:
Malcolm Sharp