[LSyd]

i would love to do an in-depth city journal, but i don't have much time and didn't start this city with that intention per se, so here's a CJ light, along with my planning notes.

i originally wanted to do an African-type city (formerly colonial,) so i started on this city, a play on my old city of Birmingham, Alabama's nickname "the Ham." Birmingham has a lot of hills, was founded on industry in the late 1800s and boomed in the early 1900s, so i also wanted that feel. then i got back from a visit to the United Kingdom and wanted to recreate a dense, Victorian city feel, so i combined the two and incorporated ideas from my business organizations class to make up a basic story to explain the city's existence:

Cape Hamilton was a struggling French port in Africa bought by a British-American company from Napoleon III during the Franco-Prussian war; the governing conglomerate would set up a city-state to bypass exporting minerals to the UK and U.S. for manufacturing, thus "outsourcing" the work. a very business-friendly (some might say corrupt) atmosphere was also set up.

a provisional army, navy and police force were recruited from veterans of the recent United States Civil War. their former equipment was bought cheaply as it was no longer needed, especially of note being naval ships, submersible research and automatic weapons.

recently-freed slaves from the United States were also recruited, and money siphoned from the religious in wealthy countries to spread the gospel to "savage natives." in reality, this money went to promoting industry.

the new owners of the colony were so money driven they forced personal racial hatred to be repressed, and opened the country up to qualified immigrants from everywhere. if you had money, a marketable skill, or were willing to work to death, you were welcome. the wealthy, talented and educated members of oppressed minorities worldwide were even actively recruited to relocate to Cape Hamilton.

the ruling government wasn't entirely evil, corrupt, or exploitative though; after reading Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth" in 1889, a trial program was set up to see if the rich man's philosophy would work. the results were very productive, and a massive program was set up to "give back" to the new country's citizens...because this would result in a happier, more productive, and ultimately more-educated work force.

a more educated work force was desireable, after seeing modern inventions such as phonographs, motion pictures, and electric devices. strong universities were established for research that would benefit industry...this lead to a continual tech-boom.

so much for the story, i liked how the city turned out so i've kept it looking pre-1950, and i'll make the "modern African city" later.

Stats:

Largest City - Cape Hamilton (480,000)
Region population - 995,748

region view - i'm just doing it as i go along

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336571/original.jpg

aerials

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336541/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336540/original.jpg

Le Vieux Arondissement - the oldest part of the city, although storms, fires, and a lack of quality old buildings have replaced much of it

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336154/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336152/original.jpg

big houses on what was in farm land, now encircled by denser developments...
one of many such neighborhoods in the city

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336151/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336162/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336326/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336536/original.jpg

the edges of le vieux quartier

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336537/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336535/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336161/original.jpg

the old fort on the mountain overlooking the bay, now a major tourist attraction

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336160/original.jpg

Central Square - home of government offices; the first capitol is on the right end of the square, while the new one looks remarkably like Buffalo's city hall

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336150/original.jpg

new capitol

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336546/original.jpg

buildings near the square

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336325/original.jpg

palaces on founder's hill...big business leaders need big houses

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336156/original.jpg

the old university campus

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336155/original.jpg

typical terraced/row house neighborhood

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336159/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336321/original.jpg

tenement housing

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336547/original.jpg

slum housing sandwiched between le vieux quartier and an industrial zone; council estate slums of the future are also seen

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336757/original.jpg

city centre

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336158/original.jpg

an older view of the city centre

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/52987564/original.jpg

central station area

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336316/original.jpg

naval yard, currently leased to NATO

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336318/original.jpg

large commuter rail system

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336542/original.jpg

miscellaneous pics

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336317/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336320/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336322/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336323/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336324/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336328/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336329/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336331/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336332/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336534/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336147/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336148/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336149/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336157/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336543/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336545/original.jpg

that's it for now.

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p.s. THANKS TO ALL THE CUSTOM BATTERS AND SIMTROPOLIS!!! :cheers:

p.s.s. no cheats used

[foxmtbr]

Nice! Oh how I wish mods wouldn't crash my game. (And yes, I tried reinstalling DirectX, STR. It didn't do anything. :()

[LSyd]

Nice! Oh how I wish mods wouldn't crash my game. (And yes, I tried reinstalling DirectX, STR. It didn't do anything. :()

thanks dude. i'd be bored as hell w/o the mods.

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[Suburban Lou]

nice.

[Jarrod]

I really wish that I could build a city like that! My cities all look messy!

[LSyd]

thanks y'all.

This historic city is changing. Nice collection of buildings u have. How did u get that ship on the sand?

it's a landmark from Simtropolis...wrecked ships.

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[Bergenser]

cool city

[LSyd]

^ thanks.

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[BnaBreaker]

Shits almighty, I love it! I need to make a pre-1950 city.

[niwell]

Nice! I like Le Vieux Arondissment best. The farm buildings surviving in neighbourhoods and the tenement rows are something I'll have to try out in my cities.

[LSyd]

thanks.

i noticed more farm remnants after looking at these pics...the 2 squares of odd trees across the street from the bus stop by the rowhouses are orange trees, leftover from a farm. i need to leave more farm remnants like this. it also sort of reminds me of my parents' hood in the burbs...at the entrance, across from a strip mall, there are two large fields, both with barns still in use (horses in one, airplane kit construction in the other.)

the crazy shit is one guy sold his old house to the guy across the street and moved it over there, and built a nice new mansion on his lot...while the one across the street now has a large and a small house. it looks a hell of a lot better than pre-served mcmansion tracts.

anyway, here's the orange trees again...it also reminds me of a hippy girl i saw at a city redevelopment plan talk about how great it would be to have apple trees in a city park you could eat apples from. :haha:

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/63336536/original.jpg

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[Sinjin]

Cool urban planning

[Lecom]

Shit's dense. Nice job.

[LSyd]

Shit's dense. Nice job.

:haha: thanks you two.

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[Zephyr]

Very nice work! I really like the looks of that dense city without highways. I see you used some of my favorite buildings from Simtropolis like the Helmsley Building, Carbon and Carbide, One Exchange Plaza, and Buffalo City Hall. Well done!

[DetroitSky]

Great city! You have some nice buildings I've never seen before.

[Sinjin]

Great City. I wonder how I could create realistic cities. My cities all look fancy

[Derek]

how the hell do u make that in sc4?!! i was so good in 3000 unlimited but completely suck at number 4...

[LSyd]

how the hell do u make that in sc4?!! i was so good in 3000 unlimited but completely suck at number 4...

thanks.

this is my 3rd "serious" region (one or two other small ones i'm not counting.) this time i went away from my usual plan of maximizing population and density for a megalopolis.

so, keep playing it and find out what works. get Rush Hour (if you don't have it) and the patches and download custom lots from Simtropolis.com

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[LSyd]

a tour of some suburbs to the south and east

Westavia

http://static.flickr.com/98/249032140_1a0c4cec0f_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/97/249032138_ae0b39f728_o.jpg

Chav's Paradise

http://static.flickr.com/81/249032126_e98ddcd728_o.jpg

tennements

http://static.flickr.com/90/249032118_77c3d72029_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/93/249031301_81fb3ec27c_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/44/249031297_b71b2dd08d_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/88/249031293_06d7cc3907_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/85/249031288_3ad946e08a_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/87/249031287_b1643906ee_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/95/249031285_feab4d112e_o.jpg

Mountain Base

http://static.flickr.com/96/249029363_5e01a6fc77_o.jpg

commuter rail hub

http://static.flickr.com/91/249029957_862b4edce8_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/82/249029365_583a310594_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/81/249029366_f09dc62415_o.jpg

university

http://static.flickr.com/89/249029368_d49f4c46d1_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/94/249029370_489a14bd8f_o.jpg

outer suburban neighborhoods

http://static.flickr.com/95/249029371_5ea744d3a5_o.jpg

Estvalee

http://static.flickr.com/96/249032053_bf9a7b14f4_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/78/249032061_2077396e84_o.jpg

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[Bergenser]

Great tour! :tup:

[yarabundi]

Thanks for your cj. This city would need some terrraforming...

[LSyd]

Thanks for your cj. This city would need some terrraforming...

don't you mean the region? and the terraforming of the region is a little further a long...again, it's not sim landscaping, dammit. ;)

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[Caronte]

Shocking. Just a few words: Probably one of the best cities i've ever seen.

[LSyd]

bump to stop the prune.

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[LSyd]

bump. updates coming soon.

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[Matty]

they better.