Effective use of microcomputers can greatly aid professional city planners and managers in the exacting duties they perform. Microcomputers are a low-cost, high-powered means of mechanizing both routine and sophisticated analytical operations. This text demonstrates how to incorporate microcomputer technology in a range of city planning problems and situations. The authors link a variety of methods and applications to concrete examples and exercises. Their hands-on approach is designed specifically for professional planners and managers in both the public and private sectors. It covers everything from inserting a floppy disk into the processing unit to producing typed copy of results from predictive modeling and forecasting future trends.

The study begins with a basic introduction to the technical jargon associated with PCs and an explanation of the Input-Process-Output cycles. A series of chapters follow, explaining specific software packages and their functions and operations. Specific applications using spreadsheets, graphics, and database management schemes are extremely useful. Further chapters introduce graphics and database systems. The book’s learn-by-example format will prove extremely useful to time-pressed practitioners and students in city planning and management, as well as students preparing to enter the field.