Developer Peter Cai's Permit Pending is a browser city simulation 'in the spirit of the classics' with one twist: you are an elected mayor, not a god. Every apartment block, bus lane and factory goes through hearings, reviews, objections, lawsuits and appeals; residents have ages, incomes and homes; a seven-seat council votes; and you face reelection every four years. It is free, needs no account, saves locally and works offline after the first visit. Scenarios range from a 200-person hamlet to 'The Unaffordable Metropolis'.

The Show HN thread turned into a debate about housing and permitting itself: whether a century of keeping every neighbor happy produced today's shortages, whether unregulated building just creates other problems, and how books like Abundance frame it. Players also flagged story text that doesn't match their town, and the author replied with fixes.