ׁÀn & P n & R\n & lSn & dU'n & Wzn & Zn & \n & ]n & _on & y`n & 3bUn & dn & Vf>n & g]n & hn & jn & mn & o n & qn & tn & vn & Fxn & yn( & {n) & }n* & Vn+ & n, & n- & n2 & n3 & n4 & n5 & en< & \gn= & Ï&n> & n? & n@ & jnF & nG & nH & "nI & (n & 1sn & 7n & ۪n & n & n & n & n & n & ]n & `n & n & n & _Kn & n & ^n & Jn & n & n & %n & Zn & n & n & svn & n & on & n &  Dn & vn & n & ;an & n & "On & )n & ,n & 0n & 4n & 6Nnp & 7Pnr & =;9ns & v?nt & Anz & CnY & hEnZ & .JRn[ & Mn\ & Qn] & UBn^ & aWZn_ & Y=n` & ^%na & bnb & d6nc & h^nd & Slmn' & mn' & sn' & yhn' & }n' & n' & Y&n' & n' & "dn' & <n' & žvThe Earthquake Resistance and Retro-Fitting Ordinance requires that money be spent on design, engineering and construction of earthquake-resistant buildings, and also on retro-fitting older buildings constructed before the advent of modern techniques. When this ordinance is enacted, buildings are better able to withstand tremors and shaking, and will sustain less damage during an earthquake. It can be pricey though, since the monthly cost of this ordinance is based on the number and types of buildings in the city.XThe Homeless Shelters Ordinance pays for shelters, soup lines, and basic infrastructure to aid the city's less fortunate. The ordinance incurs a monthly cost based on city population. The money seems well spent, as the city's overall land value actually increases, perhaps because doing something positive for the least of people is uplifting.The Tourist Promotion Ordinance uses tried-and-true advertising techniques to attract visitors to town. It also establishes a Welcome Center where guests receive maps, brochures, and discount coupons that can be used at numerous retail establishments in the city. When enacted, the treasury takes a monthly hit to pay for advertising expenses in an amount based on population. Sims benefit from a stronger Commercial demand, though they gripe about the traffic that the shutter-happy tourists bring.#The Conservation Corps is an organization responsible for maintaining the natural beauty of the city. Armed with litter-stabbing sticks and plastic trash bags, Sims of the Corps patrol city highways, streets and coastlines hunting down unsightly trash. This ordinance is funded through a monthly fee based on the number of polluting factories in the city. In addition to reducing pollution and helping to attract clean industry, the Conservation Corps keeps teenagers busy with positive activities and a sense of purpose, helping to reduce crime.vThe Clean Industry Association is a consortium of cities that promote clean industry throughout SimNation. A small monthly fee supports the association's efforts to attract non-polluting industries, conduct research in waste management, and act as a watchdog over polluting industrial sites. Many a new mayor has welcomed high-polluting industries into the city, only to regret the eventual costs to the quality of life. Enacting this ordinance will please ecologically-minded residents, but when polluting industries start feeling the pressure, they may pack up their dirty bags and leave -- which may be just what you're after.The Electronics Tax Incentive Ordinance is designed to attract electronics companies to your city by subsidizing some of the taxes those companies would otherwise pay. For cities only mildly attractive to the electronics industry, this tax break gives high-tech firms reason to take a second look. The monthly cost of this subsidy can be pricey, as it is based on the number of non-polluting manufacturers in the city. But if moving toward cleaner industry is on your agenda, the financial hit may be worth it.{The Aerospace Tax Incentive Ordinance is designed to attract developers of aerospace materials to your city by subsidizing some of the taxes those companies would otherwise pay. This may encourage demand for clean industry in your city, depending on the growth of the aerospace industry. The monthly cost of this ordinance is based on the number of clean industries in the city.The Electronics Job Fair Ordinance pays for an annual city-sponsored job fair. Electronics companies view the job fair as a valuable way to find an educated and experienced employee base, and are more likely to set up in cities that hold one. Demand for clean industry increases when this ordinance is enacted, but the city foots the bill which is a monthly fee based on population.kThe Biotech Tax Incentive Ordinance is designed to attract biotechnology companies to your city by subsidizing a portion of the taxes those companies would otherwise pay. This may encourage demand for clean industry, depending on the growth of the biotechnology industry. The monthly cost of this ordinance is based on the number of clean industries in the city.The Public Access Cable Ordinance pays for free local use of media facilities by members of your community. Media companies are more likely to see your city as a place where telecommunication skills are highly valued, and may be more likely to move in, hoping to find an experienced employee base. Each month a fee is deducted from the city treasury, an amount based on population. Its effect is an increase in demand for clean industry.QThe Industrial Waste Disposal Tax levies a tax on all Commercial and Industrial interests doing business in the city to pay for special disposal of Class 3 Refuse. To "share the burden," a flat tax is assessed to all businesses regardless of the actual amount of Class 3 Refuse they produce. All companies dislike this tax, particularly small business owners who feel the flat tax structure is unfair. This ordinance brings monthly revenue into the treasury, an amount based on the number of Commercial and Industrial buildings in the city. It tends to lower Commercial and Industrial demand.The Mandatory Car Smogging Ordinance requires that any car driven comply in principle with clean emissions standards as set by the SimNation Geo-Physical Council of 1979. When this ordinance is enacted, air pollution levels drop. The city spends money each month for administration of the program, an amount that varies based on population. Since the cost of non-compliance falls upon the car owners, a few Sims are always royally cheesed by this ordinance.:The Clean Air Ordinance promotes techniques to reduce air pollution reduction in all homes and businesses. Industry sees itself as the victim of this measure, feeling pressured to clean up its own mess. This ordinance has a monthly cost, based on population. The overall effect is to lower citywide air pollution.YThe Leaf Burning Ban Ordinance asks residents to refrain from setting outdoor fires to dispose of piles of leaves. The result is a reduction of citywide air pollution and a lowering of flammability. There is no cost associated with this ordinance, and it does not bar Sims from burning leaves in their living rooms, should they choose to do so.The Trash Presort Ordinance encourages Sims to separate their garbage for more efficient recycling. Individual bins are provided for each of ninety-five refuse types, including toxic waste and synthetic plastics numbered one through seventy-eight. Sims caught tossing trash into the wrong bin must attend a six-week course, "Olfactory Identification of Trash Types." When this ordinance is enacted, the city pays a monthly cost, based on population, but efficiency in Recycling Centers goes up considerably.The Lawn Chemical Ban forbids the use of any fertilizer that contains Triphenel-Bichloral-Monodioxide, a compound that has been found to contaminate the city's ground water. Although the chemical ban hinders agricultural development, most Sims believe the reduction in water pollution is for the greater good. Each month the city is charged a fee (based on population) to pay for research and development of safer fertilizers, a move to appease farmers and persnickety gardeners who rely on the 3P-2B-1D compound to control weeds.The Landfill Gas Recovery Project instructs the city to use available technology to recover the natural gas that is a by-product of garbage decomposition in a landfill. The city may, at its discretion, build and maintain its own recovery plants, contract such recovery to local businesses, or both. Any recovered natural gas will revert to the Utilities Department for inclusion in the city's general power production, although the amounts are not expected to be significant. When this ordinance is in effect, the city incurs a small monthly cost that fluctuates with population. However, air pollution will be reduced by this project, making the whole thing worthwhile.The Backyard Composting Ordinance establishes periodic neighborhood workshops to train citizens in the techniques of composting, a process that converts organic home refuse into a useful fertilizer. The monthly cost of this ordinance, based on Sim population, helps cover the granola budget for workshop participants, and pays for tour guides at local manure farms and worm ranches. It benefits the city by reducing citywide garbage and by letting Sims experience the good feeling that comes when one works the soil.The Paper Reduction Act reduces garbage levels in the city by calling attention to the vast amount of paper wasted in the normal course of running a business. It requires all production managers to file a fifty-page report whenever paper usage at their business or factory exceeds, by ten percent or more, the previous month's levels. These reports are to be typed on the Standard Form 23/6-A (rev. 2), and must provide written justification for the paper usage variance. The monthly cost of this ordinance, based on Sim population, pays to bind and store these reports in public reading rooms. The ordinance is found to be an effective means for reducing garbage production, because managers will do "whatever it takes" to avoid writing a report.The Tire Recycling Ordinance requires that all discarded vehicular tires be pulverized and incorporated into asphalt, in accordance with common road engineering practices. This ordinance reduces both garbage production and the cost of building new roads. A monthly fee, based on Sim population, is deducted from the treasury when this ordinance is in effect. Funds pay for pulverizing the city's old tires, and for delivery of the material to the Transportation Department for use in road construction.The Farmer's Market Ordinance, the brainchild of the Urban and Rural Resource Sharing Committee, asks the city to allocate a parcel of land where farmers can sell fresh fruits and vegetables to the public at wholesale prices. There are no costs to the city for enacting this ordinance, and all its effects are positive. It encourages farm development in nearby areas, and gives Sims a place to go on Saturday mornings.Legalized Gambling allows the establishment of casinos offering card, table, and mechanical games of chance as defined by the State "Right To Be Stupid Act" of 1895 and amended the following year. The city regulates the vigorish and takes a percentage of profits from all city gambling establishments each month. Even though gambling boosts the treasury, it attracts unsavory types prone to petty crime.The Industrial Pollutant Impact Fee Ordinance assesses a monthly fee to each polluting factory in the city. Fees are deposited into the city treasury with the understanding that some day they may be needed to clean up dangerously contaminated sites. Industry seems to resent government regulation in any form and some factories may respond by moving to less restrictive cities. As long as the ordinance is in place, it may be difficult to persuade new industries to move in, replacing those that leave.The Free Clinics Ordinance uses city funds to establish and maintain low-cost, high-efficiency clinics. Although they are open to the entire citizenry, these clinics are generally frequented by members of the lower economic strata, and thus treat a wide variety of ailments which would otherwise go untreated. The monthly cost of this ordinance is based on population. It results in a general rise in the city's health, and the sense of having done something worthwhile.The Junior Sports Ordinance organizes after-school team sports for youths. Uniforms are provided by various companies in the city in a spirit of co-operation with local government. Still, the ordinance costs the city a small amount each month based on city population. This ordinance lowers crime in the city by giving young troublemakers a positive outlet for impertinent creativity. All students in the league show a marked increase in standardized test scores thanks to strict academic requirements.RThe Nuclear Free Zone Ordinance spends a small amount of money per Sim to promote alternatives to nuclear applications and to encourage replacement of existing nuclear facilities. Politically charged and occasionally effectual, this ordinance raises a city's aura by providing Sims with a feeling of impact in an otherwise uncaring world. The Pro-Reading Ordinance promotes reading and writing in the city through the use of tutors, special programs and other learning resources. All Sims, but especially younger Sims, may take advantage of these free extra-curricular classes to improve reading skills, learn new skills, or just get out of the house on occasion. The Pro-Reading Ordinance has a monthly cost based on city population. It brings positive effects to the Sims including an increase in the city's education level, and the ability to discuss Proust.The Public Smoking Ban outlaws smoking in and around all public buildings. The city must pay money each month, an amount based on population, to equip local merchants with plastic water buckets. Patrons, customers or just passers-by are then able to dump water on anyone caught smoking in a public area. When this ordinance is in effect, the result is an increase in the overall health of city Sims.The Community CPR Training Ordinance establishes a small fleet of mobile medical training vans that travel throughout the city offering courses in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Conducted by local chapters of the Junior Llama League, these courses teach Sims how to respond in an emergency, increasing survival rates for Sims stricken with cardiac arrest. This ordinance costs a small amount each month, based on population. The program raises general health levels of the populace and gives all Sims peace of mind.The Crossing Guard Ordinance puts highly-trained crossing guards at some of the more challenging intersections of the city. This ordinance carries a small monthly cost, based on population, to pay the salaries of these fearless public servants. Crossing guards help prevent pedestrian accidents, increasing the overall health of Sims in the city. However, traffic becomes more congested at these intersections, causing a slight increase in citywide traffic.The Neighborhood Watch Ordinance encourages Sims to volunteer for duty on crime-watch teams in their neighborhoods. Team members patrol the streets and report any crimes or suspicious activities to a designated "block captain" who in turn contacts a police rapid-response unit. Though this ordinance has a monthly cost based on Sim population, it is highly effective in lowering citywide crime levels.The Mandatory Smoke Detector Ordinance requires that all buildings in the city be equipped with smoke detectors. These battery-powered devices emit a piercing sound whenever smoke is present. As irritating as the noise is, Sims prefer this harmless annoyance to the alternative -- being unaware a fire has broken out. This ordinance has a monthly cost, an amount based on the number of buildings in the city. When it is enacted, citywide flammability is significantly lowered.aThe Youth Curfew reduces crime by requiring that all youths be off the streets by 10:00 PM every night. Violators are escorted to the nearest police station where they must wait for their parents or guardians to take them home. This ordinance has a monthly cost, based on city population. Funds are used to pay for the additional police patrols needed.cThe Alternate Day Driving Ordinance asks Sims to limit the number of days they drive each week. Sims with even numbered license plates are encouraged to drive only on even days and those with odd numbered plates only on odd days. Drivers with vanity plates are asked to stay off the roads completely. Global traffic in the city is reduced when this ordinance is in effect. The monthly cost of this ordinance, based on population, is used to promote voluntary compliance. Sims who violate the odd/even rule are frequently ostracized by friends and co-workers, and can become angry enough to call for its repeal."The Carpool Incentive helps encourage drivers to have passengers in their cars. Drivers with three additional passengers are not required to stop for toll plazas. All "No Left Turn" signs may be ignored by drivers with seven additional passengers. A driver with nine or more passengers receives free all-day parking in most city garages. This ordinance has a monthly cost based on population to pay for administration of the program. The main benefit of this incentive is that it reduces traffic in the city, although at times tempers can flare. The Parking Fines Ordinance gives the city a small but steady source of income from parking violators. Dedicated city employees, who meet minimal standards for penmanship and congeniality, patrol the streets and issue tickets to Sims who stop their cars without regard to safety factors, posted regulations, common courtesy, or civic pride. This ordinance tends to improve traffic flow in the city. However, most Sims don't like the measure, and receiving a parking ticket fuels the fire of Sims with latent anger issues.Sims will normally walk only a short distance from their homes or offices to reach a road or mass transit stop. Enacting the Shuttle Service Ordinance sets up free shuttles around the city, increasing the distance Sims can travel to find other sources of transportation. The monthly cost of this ordinance is based on city population, and monies are spent on repair and maintenance of a fleet of shuttles.fThe Subsidized Mass Transit Ordinance cuts subway, rail and bus fares by 50%, providing an incentive for Sims to forego their cars for mass transit alternatives. City funds provide the subsidy, and an amount based on population is calculated and deducted from the treasury each month. This ordinance reduces traffic congestion and air pollution in the city.The Stairwell Lighting Ordinance requires all high-occupancy buildings be equipped with small automatic devices called "minuterie" in public stairwells. These devices detect movement and turn off lights when the stairwell is not in use, saving energy. This ordinance has a small monthly cost based on number of buildings, but it benefits the city by reducing overall power consumption.The Water Conservation Ordinance funds citywide programs to educate Sims about methods to reduce residential water consumption. In addition, it sets restrictive standards for business water usage, and a governing board issues penalties for non-compliance. The monthly cost for maintaining this ordinance is based on city population. When enacted, water consumption in the city drops by several percentage points.The Power Conservation Ordinance funds programs to teach Sims about methods for reducing power consumption at home, including turning off air conditioners and cable TV sets. Residents are asked for voluntary compliance, but businesses must adhere to mandatory power restrictions and are assessed penalties for non-compliance. The monthly cost for maintaining this ordinance is based on city population. When enacted, power consumption in the city drops by several percentage points.$The Mandatory Water Meter Ordinance requires that water meters be placed in all buildings within the city limits. Building owners are assessed water usage fees based on actual water consumption for that building. Up to half of this assessment may be passed on to building tenants. A monthly fee, based on the number of buildings in the city, is deducted from the treasury when this ordinance is in effect. Funds are used to pay for meter installation and periodic meter readings. Its effects are to significantly reduce citywide water consumption.oZones are areas of the city that a Mayor designates for specific uses. There are six types of zones. RESIDENTIAL ZONES Residential zones are where Sims live, in structures ranging from single family homes to exclusive high-rise condominiums. COMMERCIAL ZONES Commercial zones are where Sims shop, and where some of them work. Buildings in these zones range from mom-and-pop shops to towering office complexes. The demand for Commercial zones typically rises as a city gets larger. INDUSTRIAL ZONES Industrial zones define areas where manufacturing, agriculture, and high-tech enterprises can do business. Younger cities normally attract polluting industries, and can even attract farms in low density areas on the outskirts of town. As the education level of Sims rises, cities start to attract cleaner, high-tech industries. AIRPORT ZONES Airports help Commercial and Industrial districts to grow by bringing in tourists and workers. Airports must be fairly large in order to develop, and require power and transportation. SEAPORT ZONES Seaports help Industrial and Commercial sectors to grow by providing a means to transport goods to the outside world. Seaports must be fairly large in order to develop, and require power and transportation. They must be located on a seacoast. LANDFILL ZONES Landfills are areas where city garbage is dumped, buried, and left to decompose. When zoning landfill, remember to extend a road or rail from the city to the landfill site so that the garbage can be transported there. ----- Excerpt from the program "Location, Location, Location," broadcast on KSIM 98.1 -- SimNation Public Broadcasting Service3Zoning a city is both a science and an art. It is a science because demand dictates when new zones are needed. It is an art because new zones may be placed anywhere, allowing you to design any kind of city you like. The RCI Demand Indicator is the tool that tracks the demand for Residential, Commercial, and Industrial zones. When demand for a particular type of zone is high, provide more of that zone. Your decision on where to place a new zone, and what density to zone for, will influence how your city develops. Zone density determines the maximum number of buildings that can occupy a zone and how tall those buildings can be. In high-density zones, buildings may start small (low density) but will be replaced with larger buildings as land becomes more valuable. When placing different zone types next to each other, consider the impact of adjacent zones. For example, a low-density Residential area placed next to large high-density Commercial towers might be a hard sell. Even though you designate zones, the Sims will ultimately decide what to build there. Sims are fussy and fickle and often contradictory. They want to live close to the place where they work, but not too close since businesses create pollution and traffic. Finding a balance between Sims' wants and needs is key to the art of zoning. In summary, there is no one right way to lay out the zones of your city. Zoning is a process of estimation, and trial and error. Your Sims will let you know when something is amiss. ----- Editorial from Zone Quarterly, Volume 23, Issue 3, Section 21, Upper Left Cities, particularly young cities, tend to exhibit similar growth trends because demand for specific land types follows a predictable pattern. Early on, Industrial demand is high because outsiders want cheap land to build new industries. Once industry is established, Residential demand grows because Sims who work in industry need a place to live. Gradually, these Sims need Commercial services so, over time, demand for the Commercial sector grows. Residential demand is usually equal to the aggregate demand for Industrial and Commercial, or simply stated, R = C + I. Younger cities demand more Industrial than Commercial, while in mature cities the opposite is true. Industrial demand comes from outside the city, while Commercial demand is primarily internal -- as the city grows, it creates more and more internal demand for Commercial. Each sector has growth "caps" where growth cannot continue without intervention. Certain buildings such as airports, seaports, amusement parks, or sports stadiums can "lift the cap" allowing additional growth in the sector. Listen to your Sims -- though they won't talk about caps, they'll let you know when a sector stops growing and will suggest things to encourage growth. ----- Government Pamphlet 2352-4S (rev 1.2) Patterns and Trends of RCI DemandThere are five primary reasons why some zones will not develop: 1. LACK OF UTILITIES: Zones must have power before they will start to develop, and need water to develop to full density. 2. INADEQUATE TRANSPORTATION: An area will not develop unless Sims can drive to that area, or get there using some form of mass transportation. Any areas located more than a short walking distance from a transportation route is of minimal interest to Sims. 3. OVERSUPPLY OF ZONE TYPE: If there is not sufficient demand for a particular type of zone, that zone will not develop. 4. EXTREMELY HIGH OR LOW LAND VALUE: Industrial zones will not develop in areas where the land value is too high, even if there is a demand for Industrial zones. Residential and Commercial zones will not develop in areas where land value is too low, even if there is a demand for such zones. Low land value is caused by factors such as high crime, high pollution, or proximity to certain structures like garbage incinerators, high-tension wires or even buildings like jails. 5. RADIATION: If a zone has been contaminated with radiation, it will not develop. ----- Conclusions of the 8th Annual Conference on Zone FailureINDUSTRY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW These dedicated plant managers and factory owners work to bring peace and justice to the industrial sector. The organization has no written by-laws, as this would fly in the face of the group's contempt for needless regulations. Taxes are another concern; members believe governments tend to balance the budget on the backs of rich industrialists. Fred Honker, the chief executive of the group, enjoys skeet-shooting and canasta. MALCOLM LANDGRAAB INDUSTRIES Malcolm Landgraab Industries, the sole employee of which is Malcolm Landgraab, owns a controlling interest in many of SimNation's large-scale real estate projects. By advancing the interests of all developers throughout the city, Landgraab Industries earns a small commission at both ends of all transactions. Mr. Landgraab divides his time between his condo in the city and his hacienda on the resort island of San Cordelia. BUREAU OF OVERSIGHT The Bureau of Oversight is the federal liaison to city government, operating under the jurisdiction of the SimNation Department of Obscure Intentions. With bureaucrat Fred Smith at the helm, the Bureau of Oversight has enjoyed higher funding and lower responsibility for twenty-two consecutive years. Fred enjoys coin collecting and television game shows. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The Chamber of Commerce works on behalf of the local business community. President, pro tem, Prunella Penny is considered quite forceful in her pursuit to make the city a business and commercial leader in the region. Trash happens. You simply can't stop Sims from generating it. There are ways to reduce the amount of trash that Sims produce, but you can't eliminate it completely. You must find a way to dispose of the trash in your city. Your disposal alternatives are to dump it in landfills, burn it, or ship it out of town. Don't put off this chore. If you don't provide a means for your city to dispose of garbage, Sims will be forced to dump their trash right out their window and you'll be able to see it pile up. It isn't pretty. When garbage levels get very high, health levels drop dramatically as will the overall happiness of the Sims. It won't take long for everyone to find a cleaner city in which to live. ----- Public Education Brochure 12C-2, "Don't Let Garbage Become A Mess"LANDFILL ZONES If you want to bury your city's garbage, you must zone an area for landfill. Choose a site carefully. Landfills don't make good neighbors -- they stink up the air and cause surrounding land values to plummet -- so pick a spot far from Residential and Commercial zones or Sims will complain. All landfills require road or railroad access so that garbage can be transported there. Without a transportation route, the landfill will be unusable. HOW LANDFILLS WORK Landfills slowly decompose garbage, but they are not black holes; overused landfills will reach a point where they can't handle any more trash. Eventually, a landfill will decompose all of its accumulated garbage, at which time it can be rezoned. If you want to get rid of a landfill and you think bulldozing it will solve the problem, think again. You can't bulldoze over landfills; however, you can decommission them by removing road or rail access. ----- Government Pamphlet 102-C "Landfills Are Everybody's Business"Incinerators dispose of garbage by burning it. Unfortunately, they are nasty metal monsters that spew out lots of air pollution and ash. Sims don't like them, and they especially don't like them built in their backyards. Waste-to-energy incinerators are not any kinder to the environment. They have a greater disposal capacity and actually create electricity by burning garbage that can be used to supply power to your Sims. Incinerators should be placed near a road or railway so garbage trucks or trains carrying garbage can get there. But because of all the pollution they create, incinerators should not be placed near Residential or Commercial zone or Sims will complain. Incinerators have a set lifespan. As they age, their capacity is significantly reduced. There will come a time in the life of an incinerator when its capacity drops so low, it is preferable to bulldoze and replace it. ----- Government Pamphlet 102-D "Insights on Incinerators"Recycling Centers can significantly reduce the amount of trash that Sims produce. It's much cheaper to recycle trash than it is to dispose of it, so build a Recycling Center as soon as they become available. These centers pay for themselves quickly, and no city should be without one. Each Recycling Center can only deal with a limited amount of garbage, so large cities should have them in multiple locations for maximum effectiveness. Enact the Trash Presort Ordinance and you'll raise the efficiency of all Recycling Centers. Recycling Centers have a fairly long lifespan, but as they age, their capacity diminishes so periodically these buildings will need to be replaced. ----- Government Pamphlet 102-E "Recycling Centers: Where Sims Return Again and Again"|Mayors from neighboring cities may come to you with offers to buy or sell garbage disposal services. Garbage deals are only available if you have built road, rail or seaport connections to a neighboring city. EXPORTING GARBAGE An easy, but sometimes expensive, way to dispose of garbage is to pay a neighbor to haul it all away. Each month, a contracted neighbor will take all your excess garbage (meaning any garbage that your city's landfills and incinerators cannot handle); and each month, funds are deducted from your treasury based on how much garbage they took. If you don't generate any excess garbage, you still have to pay a minimum fee. There is a large penalty for canceling the deal. IMPORTING GARBAGE If you have excess landfill space or incinerator capacity, you can make a deal to dispose of a neighbor's trash. Each month, a set amount of trash will be added to your city's garbage and each month, you'll receive a cash payment. If your garbage disposal services become overloaded and you want to cancel the deal, you'll be charged a large penalty. ----- From the Circular Files of the Inter-Urban Council On Trash ExchangeAir pollution lowers land values and health levels in your city, making your Sims quite distressed. While many things contribute to air pollution, the two biggest culprits are heavy traffic and smokestack industries. If you can encourage mass transit and clean industries, you are well on your way to solving your city's air pollution problem. Adding trees and parks to your city helps to clean the air, as will enacting any of the clean air ordinances. ----- A Skunkworks Team Report, "Air Pollution"Water pollution can devastate a city. It threatens the health of residents, makes the drinking water smelly and unpalatable, and clogs pumps and pipes. Water treatment plants can purify small amounts of dirty water, but it is far too expensive and time-consuming to keep a city's entire water supply treated. The best defense against water pollution is to stop it at the source. That means preventing garbage from accumulating and attacking older, smokestack industries. Enact clean water ordinances to encourage non-polluting, high-tech industries to replace heavy manufacturing firms. ----- A Skunkworks Team Report, "Water Pollution"GGREEN GAIANS Named after Gaia, the Greek goddess of the earth, the Green Gaians have been instrumental in spearheading legislation to insure a clean environment for all Sims. Spokesman Eugene Banks, an eco-biologist and former motorcycle enthusiast, is SimNation's foremost authority on pollution and the lost art of tie-dying.Simoleons are the currency of SimNation. Each city maintains a treasury of simoleons to pay for city operations and growth. When the treasury is empty, you will not be able to zone or construct new buildings. However, expenses for city departments, ordinances, neighbor deals, and outstanding loans will continue to accrue, sending the treasury into debt. A city can carry debt up to a point, but if a city gets so deep in debt there is no hope for escape, Sims will start looking for a new Mayor. Your Financial Advisor will warn you when things start looking grim. ----- From the book, "Simoleons and the Treasury," by Albert Volkspan, Chairman of the SimNation Federal Reserve BoardContrary to popular belief, there is no ideal setting for tax rates. Successful mayors continually review and adjust tax levels to influence how their city grows. Tax rates have a strong effect on the demand for certain land types. However, conditions in the city such as availability of jobs and current land values can counteract the effect that tax rates have on demand for land. LOWERING TAXES Lowering taxes in a particular sector will spur growth in that sector, other things being equal. For example, cutting Residential taxes will attract Sims to a city. There are risks to lowering taxes. The total number of taxpayers may increase, but total revenues collected may fall. Also, a growing population requires more city services, and that costs money. RAISING TAXES Raising taxes can increase the amount of tax revenues collected, allowing the city to accumulate more funds to pay for city services and growth. There are risks to raising taxes. High tax rates encourage Sims or businesses to move away, leaving the city with fewer taxpayers. Also, Sims don't like tax hikes and will complain. ----- Abstract from "Economic Hokum and Conceptual Profundity: A Tax Primer for Mayors" by Dr. Crendel Hildenbraut, Academy for Justified RedistributionDrafting a budget means deciding how much money from the city treasury should be spent on each city department. Each department requires a minimal amount to pay for salaries and capital equipment. If you give a department additional funds, the department becomes more effective -- up to a point. When departments receive far more than they need, departmental employees have a tendency to waste extra funds on unnecessary "luxury" items such as cappuccino machines and visits from pet psychics. So how much money should you allocate for each department? There is no one answer to this question. Departmental needs change as the city grows. Your advisors will offer their opinions on how much money to allocate. Be aware, though, that they are sometimes biased in favor of their own departments and may ask for more than they really need. And your Financial Advisor will normally argue against spending money for anything that is not an absolute necessity. If you have seriously underfunded a department, you can be sure your Sims will let you know. And unless you increase funding, the department may retaliate with a strike. ----- Class notes from "Budgeting for Mayors 101," Beezletown Community College, M-W-F, 9:00-10:00 A.M.The Budget window has two different views; one view shows city expenditures and the other shows city income. EXPENDITURES VIEW This view shows the aggregate outflow your city pays for Ordinances, Neighbor Deals, or outstanding loans. In addition, you'll see the current funding level for each city department. You can adjust the funding by moving the departmental slider to the right or left. The light blue marker on the budget slider shows the amount of funding the department has requested, though you may allocate any amount. INCOME VIEW This view shows the aggregate income your city receives from any money-generating Ordinances, Neighbor Deals, or Business Deals, or from Disaster Relief. In addition, you'll see current tax rates for each of the three main city sectors (Industrial, Commercial, and Residential), and may adjust them if you like. The city's estimated annual profit or loss is displayed at the bottom of the window. If the total is displayed in black, you're in good shape and should make money at the end of the year. If the total is in red, you are projected to lose money. That means you have more expenses than income for the year, and will have to use cash reserves in the treasury just to make ends meet. If you don't have enough cash, you'll start accumulating debt. When you're in the red, it is best to start looking for ways to increase your income or decrease your expenditures. ----- Excerpt from the user's guide, "Budge-It," Financial Software for Mayors, Version 1.1From time to time, Mayors from other cities may offer you deals to trade power, water, or garbage disposal services. Each deal must be reviewed on its own merit -- some deals are very advantageous, others potentially damaging. The value of a deal depends on how you wish to operate your city. You cannot initiate a deal directly. But when you build a connection to a neighboring city, it signals that city's Mayor that you are interested in trading a certain commodity. Power deals require a power line connection; water deals require a water pipe connection, and garbage deals require either a road, rail, or seaport connection. When you accept a deal to sell to a neighbor, you'll receive monthly income from the contracted neighbor, money which is automatically added to your treasury. When you accept a deal to buy from a neighbor, a monthly charge will be deducted from your treasury. Make sure to read and understand the terms of a deal before you accept it. Once you accept a deal, you are obligated to fulfill the contract and will be charged a penalty for canceling. If you destroy the connection between cities, or run out of the commodity you're selling, the deal will be automatically cancelled and you'll be charged a penalty fee. ----- Inter-Urban Regulatory Guidelines for Neighbor DealsFrom time to time, you may be asked for permission to construct certain buildings in your city. If you grant permission, your city will receive a monthly fee for as long as the building stands. All Business Deals may sound attractive, but be aware that these buildings always bring problems to the city such as high crime, or pollution. The presence of these buildings in the city will cause Sims to complain, especially if they are constructed near Residential neighborhoods. Think carefully before agreeing to a Business Deal. They are only worth the trouble if you really need the cash. ----- Inter-Urban Regulatory Guidelines for Business DealsVWhen times get tough, or you are looking for rapid growth, you may want to take out a loan. Loans provide a quick infusion of cash to the city treasury. This cash can be used for any purpose -- it can pay for improvements such as new schools, or it can pay off existing debt. In short, loans stimulate growth in cities that are robust but not wealthy, or can save from bankruptcy cities that have suffered loss from disasters or fiscal mismanagement. Loans are expensive, so don't take one without considering the consequences. Interest costs are equal to approximately fifty percent of the loan; therefore if a city takes a 10,000 simoleon loan, the city is obligated to pay back nearly 15,000 simoleons. FACTS ABOUT LOANS: You may have up to ten loans outstanding at any time. A loan can be taken for any reason, and at any time (unless you have ten loans outstanding). Loans are available in 5,000 simoleon increments. Each new loan is extended for ten years, and cannot be paid off early. The city must make annual payments on each loan for ten full years. Annual payment amounts are based on principal and interest. When the final payment is made in the tenth year, the loan is repaid and comes off the books. Total payments made will equal approximately 150% of the original loan amount. ----- Government Publication 10546\A-2F "Taking Out a Loan"HOW TO CUT EXPENSES Stop Construction! Zoning and building use up your cash reserves faster than you'd think. When cash reserves are low, build up your treasury before you build anything else. Cut Budgets! A quick way to cut expenses is to lower the budgets for some or all of the city departments. Be careful though, as the departments will not run very well without adequate funds and this may cause problems in your city. If you cut the budget too far, you may end up with a strike on your hands. Repeal Ordinances! Most ordinances, when enacted, will cost the treasury a certain amount each month, usually based on population. If the ordinance is repealed, the monthly charge will stop. You can see all your current ordinances by going to the Ordinance window. Click the box to remove the checkmark and repeal the ordinance. Review Neighbor Deals! If you're spending money each month to buy a commodity from a neighbor, decide if it's best for the contract to continue. If you think it is best to cancel a contract, try to wait for an opportunity to cancel without paying the hefty penalty. HOW TO RAISE INCOME Raise Taxes! It will lower demand for real estate, but without cash to build, you don't need high demand. Watch that taxes are not so high that everyone leaves town, or you'll be in real trouble. Enact Money-Generating Ordinances! A small percentage of ordinances bring monthly income to the treasury. This money comes from groups in the city affected by the ordinance, and they will not be pleased when forced to pay. Look for Moneymaking Neighbor Deals! If you have excess water, power, or garbage disposal capacity, check in the Petitioner window for neighbors who will pay you to supply these commodities. Take Out a Loan! Even though you have to pay back the money, plus interest, loans are a quick way to build up the treasury. If you use the money wisely, paying back the loan shouldn't be too painful. ----- Advertising supplement, "Eight Ways to Increase Your Cash Flow"FISCAL WATCHDOGS Proud to be called bean counters, the Fiscal Watchdogs keep a close eye on how the public's money is spent. This loosely-organized group of concerned accountants, bursars and cashiers volunteer their time and training to make sure the city is not frittering away taxpayer money. Phyllis Denning, the group's figurehead, claims never to have met a city expenditure she liked.rHow long do you expect to live? If you're an average Sim living in the average city, you'll probably live fifty-nine years. At least that's what insurance actuarial charts tell us. But there is new scientific proof that we can increase our life expectancy to as high as ninety years. No, it's not a miracle drug. The secret to longevity is living a healthy life. This is easier said than done, and despite the claims made by militant vegans, broccoli alone is just not enough. So what can we Sims do to increase our own longevity? We demand that more hospitals be built in the city, and ask for higher healthcare funding. We can take public transit to reduce smog levels. And we can lobby for health-improving ordinances, including measures that ensure a healthy, pollution-free environment. ----- Transcript of a Channel 12 "Viewer Perspective." The speaker is Dexter Filbert.Young Sim brains are like sponges, soaking up and learning everything they are exposed to. But their uncanny ability to learn is fleeting. By the time Sims reach adulthood at age twenty-two, they have learned all they will learn in their lifetime. Sadly, adult Sims must work to merely retain the education level they achieved in their youth. If they aren't continually exposed to educational environments such as museums and libraries, their accumulated knowledge starts to decay. ----- From the article, "The Myth of Adult Education -- A Meta-Analysis Of Sim Learning Trends With Implications For Policymakers" by Harcourt Nosetip, Ed. D.Education levels determine a city's potential. High education levels in a city mean less pollution, less crime, and happier Sims. Also, high-tech industries are only attracted to cities that have a pool of educated workers. If you want to raise education levels in your city, concentrate on educating the children. Build enough schools and colleges in your city so that every young Sim has a place to learn. The quality of education that young Sims receive in school will affect them their entire lives. Schools require funding to be effective. If education funding is very low for an extended period of time, teachers and/or college professors will go on strike. Do not neglect the educational needs of adult Sims. Build museums and libraries to halt the natural decay of knowledge in adults -- it's a smart move for your city. ----- Letter to the Editor, Simville Picayune, "Fallacies In The Analyses of Harcourt Nosetip, Ed. D."Aura means happiness and feelings of well-being -- the general ambiance of the city. A city with high Aura is home to happy Sims, and happy Sims give high approval ratings to the Mayor. Sometimes they even bring gifts! You can raise the Aura in your city by keeping education and health levels high. Also, a growing economy and the presence of desirable buildings such as parks and zoos can raise Aura. Aura is tied to land value; the higher the aura, the greater the land value. Pollution, crime, traffic, high tax levels, and the presence of undesirable buildings such as landfills and prisons can lower Aura. Do not neglect or pooh-pooh the Aura rating, as only cities with high Aura will achieve full success and become eligible to receive gifts and special opportunities. ----- From the self-help book, "If I Had Only An Hour To Live, I Would Continue Playing This Slot Machine," by Marcia Q. Boggle, Certified Aura Specialist offering aura readings and photographs at reasonable prices.@GRATEFUL CITIZENS COMMITTEE Grateful Citizens Committee members are, in the words of its founder, Beverly Overly, "so dang happy to be Sims that we could just spit." The main function of this group is to present awards to city officials for outstanding work. When there are no awards to be presented, Beverly devotes her time and energy to recruiting new committee members. "HAVE A NICE DAY" CLUB Originally a divorce support group called Dumped and Desperate, the "Have A Nice Day" Club was renamed when several members remarried but didn't want to break ties with the group. This is a social organization, not a political group, though members speak out occasionally on city Aura issues. Suzanne Pleasant, the committee's Executive Secretary, is an unflagging optimist who searches for the good in any situation. She has not remarried. GRAY LLAMAS Eighty-eight year old Beatrice Meffelwhim started the Gray Llamas when her husband, Jervis, was recovering from a broken hip. "The poor dear," Bea remembers. "Seeing him hobble after busses as they pulled away from the curb gave me the idea." She does not think of the Gray Llamas as a "senior citizen's lobby," but as a group of older Sims who have ideas for everyone. BENEVOLENT AND PROACTIVE ORDER OF LLAMAS The BPOL is one of the oldest, most revered civic organizations in the city. Its stated purpose is to "gently remind the Mayor from time to time of certain obligations inherent to the office." The spokesperson is Fred Clockson, Regional Coordinator. When not attending to organizational duties, Fred ties flies at Miller's Trap'N Trout.*SOCIETY FOR THE EXCESSIVELY CULTURED This elite organization works to enrich the city by promoting education and the fine arts. Members also do charity work. Each holiday season, the group delivers baskets of classical music CDs and domestic Pinot Noirs to needy families in the city. Mrs. Harold Crebs assumed leadership of the group when her husband, Harold Crebs, was killed in a golf cart accident. BELOW AVERAGE BOWLERS LEAGUE B.A.B.L. members have learned political activism can bring almost as much excitement into their lives as bowling does. This group of third shift millwrights have little reason to complain to the mayor, but do so at every opportunity because they enjoy hearing their voices echo in the office rotunda. "Besides, it gets us out of the house during the day," says current Exalted Poobah and thirty pin handicapper Lenny Striker. MRS. FARSHEIM'S 10th GRADE CIVICS PROJECT Established by the school board, this experimental group of high school sophomores gives the voice of youth open access to the Mayor's office. Civics teacher Peg Farsheim hopes that showing young Sims the inner workings of city government will help prepare them to be better citizens and lead more productive lives. Rodney "Boss" Jones, the groups teen leader, has already expressed an interest in becoming an alderman.Crime is a fact of life in any city, but it can and should be kept to a minimum. High crime in a neighborhood lowers land values and makes law-abiding Sims very unhappy. You can deal with crime from several angles. First, build more police stations in your city. Second, take steps to make your city a nice place to live. (SimCriminals tend to avoid nice places.) POLICE STATIONS Police stations provide protection in a radius around each station called a "precinct." The size of a precinct expands as you raise the police budget. Criminals can roam free in any area that is not covered by a precinct, so try to place police stations in strategic areas around your city. Funding not only affects a precinct's size, but also its effectiveness. Police effectiveness is the likelihood that a criminal who commits a crime within a precinct will get caught. Effectiveness is always highest in a small radius around the police station, and starts to fade farther away from the station. As police funding increases, police effectiveness throughout the precinct rises. Police stations placed near one another may have precincts that overlap, and effectiveness in these overlapping areas is additive. The Crime Data map shows the location of police stations and the effectiveness within the precincts, as well as showing areas of high crime in the city. Use this map to find the best spots to place new police stations. You can use the Query tool to get details on how any individual station is doing. ----- Classnotes from the Police Academy, "Protecting Your Sims"Jails are where convicted criminals are put to pay their debt to society. If you do not have enough jails in your city, the police will be forced to release any new criminals they catch back onto the street. Keep enough jails around or your police effectiveness will drop. Sims don't like living near jails, so build them away from Residential neighborhoods. ----- SimNational Report on Criminal Housings Alternatives]The best way to lower crime is to build more police stations and raise the police budget. But there are additional measures you can take. High land value goes hand in hand with low crime. The more you can do to make your city a more desirable place to live, the fewer crimes will occur. Certain ordinances can reduce crime, though you should weigh the cost of the ordinance against the cost of providing additional police protection. And be aware that some ordinances, like some buildings, tend to increase crime levels. ----- Proceedings from the Police Commissioner Convention: Making Your City SaferWhen an emergency occurs, you may manually dispatch a police squadron to any area in the city. The number of squadrons you can send at any one time is equal to the number of police stations in the city plus one. You always have at least one dispatch, even with no police stations. When an emergency arises in an area with sufficient police coverage, you probably do not need to dispatch additional police. You still may want to though, especially for larger disasters. Police can help to some extent no matter what type of disaster occurs. Though they are most effective for dealing with riots, they can be helpful for dealing with other disasters such as fires. To dispatch a police squadron, click on the Dispatch Police button within the EMERGENCY button menu and then click on any location in the city. The officers arrive immediately and go straight to work. A police dispatch pylon will mark their location. ----- Excerpt from The Police Office''s Handbook, "Getting the Most Out of You Patrol Car"KFIRE STATIONS and FUNDING Fires occur at random, though they are more likely in areas of high flammability. If Fire Stations are placed strategically throughout the city, you can rest easy knowing that if a blaze does break out, you have everything set up to solve the problem without your intervention. Each fire station you place provides a radius of fire protection around it. The size of the coverage area expands up to a limit as you raise the fire budget. Though a fire is just as likely to break out in an area with fire protection as in one without, fires in protected areas are less likely to do any damage because firefighters respond immediately. Funding not only affects the size of the coverage area, it also influences the effectiveness of firefighters within a covered area. Firefighter effectiveness is the likelihood that a fire that breaks out in a protected area will get put out before damage occurs. Effectiveness is always highest in a small radius around the fire station, and starts to fade farther away from the station. As fire funding increases, firefighter effectiveness rises. Fire stations placed near one another may have cover areas that overlap, and effectiveness in these overlapping areas is additive. The Flammability Data map shows the location of fire stations and their coverage areas. It also shows areas at high risk of fire. Use this map to find the best spots in your city to place new fire stations. WHEN A FIRE IS OUT OF CONTROL When a fire occurs in an area not served by a fire station, you can dispatch firefighters to the scene. You might even dispatch police, though they don't help much. Or you can bulldoze a firebreak around the blaze to try and contain it. What you cannot do is turn off "disasters" when a fire is already in progress. ----- Tips from Dotty the Dalmatian: Protecting Your City Against FireFlammability is a measure of how easily something will burn. All buildings in your city have an inherent flammability rating, which you can see if you query the building. The higher the rating, the more likely that building will be consumed by fire if one occurs. The most effective way to reduce the flammability of a building is to make sure it is watered. To be watered, a building must be located within seven tiles of a water pipe that is supplying water. Try to see that all buildings in your city are hooked to the water system. The reduction in potential fire damage is significant. Certain ordinances can reduce the global flammability level in your city. ----- From Dotty the Dalmatian's Collection of Favorite Quotes: Don't Let the Flammability Dog Wag the Fire Hose TailWhen an emergency occurs, you may manually dispatch a unit of firefighters to any area in the city. The number of units you can send at any one time is equal to the number of fire stations in the city plus one. You always have at least one dispatch, even with no fire stations. When an emergency arises in an area with sufficient fire coverage, you probably do not need to dispatch additional firefighters. You still may want to though, especially for larger disasters. Firefighters can help to some extent no matter what type of disaster occurs. For example, they are very effective dealing with fire, but not so great at quieting rioters. To dispatch a fire fighting unit, click on the Dispatch Firefighters button within the EMERGENCY button menu and then click on any location in the city. The unit arrives immediately and firefighters go straight to work. A fire dispatch pylon will mark their location. ----- From the inspirational papers of Dr. Bernie Upman, "Responding to the Mayor's Call"PREDICTING DISASTERS Disasters occur at random, but sometimes you may see hints that they're coming. Keep your eye on your News Ticker. WHEN DISASTERS STRIKE Fires and riots are the only disasters where you can make a difference by dispatching police and fire units. It doesn't matter how many police officers you send to an earthquake or alien attack, it won't make any difference once the disaster hits, though the Early Warning Siren helps if activated beforehand. If, for some reason, you actually want a disaster to occur, select CREATE DISASTER and pick your means of destruction. You may avoid disasters altogether by unchecking "Disasters" in the Preferences window. ----- Recovered page from Mrs. O'Leary's diary entitled, " I Could Kick Myself For Not Seeing That Disaster Coming"When it comes to disasters, all cities are at risk. Though you can hope for the best, it always best to prepare for the worst. If you can get your Sims off the streets and inside before a disaster strikes, the damage from the disaster will be much less. Activate the Early Warning Siren and they will heed your warning and take cover. You are the only one who can control this siren, and you should not abuse the privilege. If you activate the siren when no emergency is imminent, Sims will start to doubt you and may not respond when a the need is real so tease with caution. ----- Government Pamphlet #108B\4, Misuse of the Early Warning Siren Is Cause For AlarmJSIMS ACTING FIRMLY IN EMERGENCIES (S.A.F.E.) S.A.F.E. works closely with local authorities to help neighborhoods fight crime and prepare for emergency situations. "Neighborhoods are the collective family," says Drill Sergeant Kurt Kahonis, "When the neighborhood works together, the city works--period." Sims don't argue with him.LROADS vs. MASS TRANSIT A transportation system can be based on roads, mass transit, or some combination of both. Most Sims prefer to drive their cars, so if roads are plentiful, more Sims will want to live in your city, especially when the city is small. But if you rely solely on roads, you'll find that as the population grows, traffic problems become horrendous. Mass transit gets cars off the street and keeps the air cleaner. It's one of the best things you can do for your city. In fact, it's difficult to build a large city without using any mass transit at all. When planning your subway, rail and bus routes, be sure that they are convenient, or your Sims won't use them. Certain ordinances provide incentives for Sims to forego their cars in favor of mass transit. ----- Free Government Handout, "The Importance of Infrastructure"5ROADS and HIGHWAYS Roads are two-lane paved routes that Sims like to drive on. Highways are elevated, high capacity roads. They allow Sims to travel more efficiently over long stretches of terrain, so if you want to connect two very distant zones, highways are a good choice. INTERSECTIONS Intersections allow your Sims to drive off of one road and onto another. They are usually trouble-free, though if traffic is heavy, intersections can become bottlenecked with Sims trying to merge. When you build a road that crosses an existing road, city engineers will automatically create an intersection you for. ON-RAMPS Highways may be built over roads, but if you want your Sims to be able to get from one to the other, the intersection requires an on-ramp. On-Ramps allow your Sims to get on and off Highways. To build an on-ramp, select the On-Ramp tool and click on the tile at the corner of the intersection of a road and highway, or of two highways. The city engineers will construct the on-ramp. ----- Endnotes from the poem, "The Road More Traveled" written by Moe BiehlYou can build roads, highways and rails across water. When you build over water, your city engineers will automatically be notified to build a bridge for you. They will build causeways over short spans of water and suspension bridges over large spans. When building, don't be disheartened by the red drop shadow that appears as you move the mouse over water -- just keep dragging until you reach dry land again. When you release the mouse button on dry land, the city engineers will notify you of the cost of the proposed span. If you accept, the bridge will be built. ----- Why Engineers Love Toothpicks and Duct Tape: Part 1 - BridgesWhen you're building a road, highway, or rail over mountainous terrain, your omnipresent team of city engineers may insist you bore a tunnel if the incline is too steep. This happens automatically if you try to build a route across a steep incline. Your team of city engineers will inform you of their ability to construct a tunnel and the cost. If you accept, they will bore the tunnel for you. ----- Why Engineers Love Toothpicks and Duct Tape: Part 2 - TunnelsMASS TRANSIENTS This group is committed to the expansion, enhancement and use of public transit throughout the city. Organized by Kara Barkley, estranged daughter of car-mogul Ben Barkley, the group's expressed purpose is to remove automobiles from all city streets. While they accept the futility of this position, they nevertheless believe any victories, no matter how minor, are steps in that direction.Due to major advances in power transmission, power plants can transmit power effortlessly across zones. Electric energy from a power plant radiates out two tiles in all directions. Every zoned tile or building that lies within that two-tile radius will be powered. But that's just the beginning. Every powered tile or building acts like a power relay station, transmitting power for an additional four tiles. Powered tiles use what they need, and deliver any remaining power to surrounding zoned tiles and buildings. As long as power flows to a zoned tile or building, it will just keep going. Thoughtful zoning makes it feasible to create a chain of power, enabling you to power an entire city without ever placing power lines! But there may be cases where laying power lines is a better option. For instance, if you place a power plant in an unzoned area on the far outskirts of the city, there may not be enough zoned tiles to relay the power where it's needed. In this case power lines are needed to transmit the power to the zones. Power lines allow you to place heavy polluting, undesirable power plants far from your developing zones. ----- Utilities Billing Insert # 24, "Recent Advances in Power Delivery"NHigh-tension power lines carry power any distance over zones or unzoned tiles. Power lines do not need to originate at a power plant -- they can be built anywhere. As long as part of the power line touches a powered tile, the entire power line will be powered. Power is conducted through the lines to the end point, and also radiates out two tiles along the path of the power line. Power lines can cross most types of terrain, though if the terrain is too mountainous, you'll need to find another path. You can even build power lines over water if you are willing to pay your city engineers to construct platforms to stabilize the power lines. Sims do not like living near high-tension power lines, and Residential land values near them will never reach their peak. ----- Utilities Billing Insert #59, "The Angst Over High-Tension Power Lines" SimCity 3000 offers nine types of power plants, though not all of them are available all the time. (They must be invented first!) Each power plant varies in cost, useful lifespan, amount of power it can generate, and amount of pollution it produces. You need to decide which is best for your city's needs. If you can afford it, it's worth spending the extra money for lower-polluting power plants, but there may be times when you have no choice but to cover your Sims in black soot. Power plants lose capacity as they age and will explode when they reach the end of their useful life. It is a good idea to bulldoze and replace older power plants with new plants before they explode to prevent any unexpected power losses. It is especially important to bulldoze nuclear plants before they reach the end of their life. If a nuclear plant explodes, it releases dangerous radiation that will devastate the surrounding area. ----- "Power Can Neither Be Created Nor Destroyed -- The Debunking of a Theory," unpublished paper by Gus OddmanA power loss, called a blackout, occurs when a building or zone that normally receives power is not receiving enough power to operate. Most blackouts occur when a power station can't generate enough power to meet the demands of the area it serves. Power will radiate as far as possible from the power station and then will just stop, leaving structures farthest from the plant without power. Another cause for blackouts is when a "break" in the grid occurs. This can mean that a power line was destroyed, or that the established path where power radiated was disrupted through unzoning of powered tiles, or when a powered building on an unzoned tile was destroyed. A lighting bolt symbol will flash when a structure is not receiving power. For a complete view of the powered and unpowered areas of your city, check the Power Data map. ----- Utilities Billing Insert, Flyer # 87, "What Causes Power Losses?">Sims need water. Zones that are not watered will never reach full development and are at a high risk for fire disasters. If water to a developed zone is cut off for too long, Sims will pack up and leave. It's not always easy to tell if a tile is watered just by looking at your city. Slow (or no) development is an indication, but the only sure-fire method is to query the tile, or switch to the underground view where watered tiles are easily distinguishable by their bright blue color. ----- Excerpt from "The Universal Solvent: What Every Mayor Should Know About Water"VThough you may have natural water sources like lakes and rivers in your city, you must build pumps to pump the water out, and build a network of pipes to carry this water to your Sims. Water from the pumps will flow through the pipe network toward the city until the water supply is exhausted. You may have tiles that are piped for water, but unless your pumps can generate enough water to fill all the pipes, some areas won't get the water they need. Build more pumps and connect them to the pipe network to increase the flow. ----- Utilities Billing Insert # 43, "How Does Water Get To My Tap?"9There are three kinds of water sources in your city and, not surprisingly, three kinds of pumps. All pumps have a limited lifespan. As they age, their capacity to pump water decreases. It makes sense to bulldoze and replace older pumps with new pumps. PUMPING STATIONS Regular pumping stations pump water from fresh water lakes and rivers. Like all pumps, they require electricity to operate. Pumping stations, though, can pull up more water than any other kind of pump. They must be built very near a fresh water source, or they won't work. Pay attention to water pollution levels, as high pollution really slows down the efficiency of pumping stations. WATER TOWER Water towers pump water from hidden underground springs. These springs exist everywhere, so water towers can be built anywhere. The problem with water towers is that they don't pump very much water. Water pollution can slow them down even further. DESALINIZATION PLANT Desalinization plants pump water from the sea and convert the salt water into fresh water. They do their job amazingly well, but they do come with some potential problems. These pumps must be built on a seacoast to be of any use, they are less efficient than a pumping station, and they lose efficiency when water pollution is present. ----- Article from Pump Weekly, "Three Common Types of Pumps"!Water radiates out along pipe routes, watering all areas within seven tiles of a pipe that carries water. Unlike power transmission, watered tiles do not act as relay stations. For a tile to be watered, it must be above or near a pipe, not just near another watered zone. To get water to the Sims, you must lay water pipes from a water pump to the city and construct a pipe network under all zones. When you chose the pipes from the Main Toolbar, the city view will automatically change to an underground view. Roads, zoned areas and developed areas are visible in this view so you can orient yourself. You can also see the underground components of water facilities so you can make the connections with ease. ----- Article from Pipes 'n' Wires, "Pipes: A Network Connection That Needs No Computer"Pollution can really gum up the waterworks. Pumps lose efficiency when they're pumping polluted water. You can add more pumps to increase the supply in the short term, but don't forget to clean up the pollution. WATER TREATMENT PLANTS One way to help clean up the water supply is to build water treatment plants. They must be connected by pipes to the water grid in order to be effective. ORDINANCES If water pollution in your city is severe, or you don't want it to become severe, consider enacting ordinances to reduce pollution. They cost money, but they make a real difference. ----- Excerpt from The Little Book of Daily Affirmations: Clean Words on Dirty Water2If you don't want to clutter up your city with unsightly and expensive facilities, you can purchase power or water from a neighbor. You must have the proper utilities connection in place before a deal can be made. Each month, a contracted neighbor will look at your city's power or water needs at the connection point, and will supply enough to cover the deficit. The connection point is critical. Any area of the city that you want to supply with purchased power or water must be able to be served from the connection point. If no pipe network or power transmission path exists between the connection and an area that need utilities, the neighbor will not recognize the deficit and will not sell you enough power or water to cover that deficit. Each month, funds are deducted from your treasury based on how much power or water you needed. If you didn't need any during the month, you still have to pay a minimum fee. You should also take into account that there is a large penalty for canceling the deal. ----- Inter-Urban Council Proceedings on Buying Power and WaterZIf you are generating excess power or water and you have the appropriate utilities connection in place, you may be approached by a neighbor looking to purchase these resources. If you make a deal to sell power or water, each month you are responsible to supply the contracted amount to be delivered through the connection point. The connection point is critical. If you're generating excess power or water in areas that cannot serve the connection point, you may not be able to fulfill the contract. Make sure there is a clear transmission path (pipes for water, zones or wires for power) from the source of your excess utilities to the connection point. If conditions change and you can no longer provide the power you promised, the deal is canceled and you'll be charged a large penalty. ----- Inter-Urban Council Proceedings on Selling Power and WateriCHANNEL 12's "IF YOU HURT, WE GET THE DIRT" Neighbors helping neighbors -- that's the philosophy of the Channel 12 Consumer Action Team. Led by investigative reporter Allie Wong, this group brings hard-hitting local stories to the public. Allie recently won the acclaimed FACE award for her ability to feign compassion when interviewing victims of catastrophes.The gridiron of crisscross streets goes back to the colony cities founded by the Mesopotamian and Assyrian empires. Colonizers have favored it ever since, from the Greeks and Romans to the Spanish Empire to the settling of the American hinterland -- wherever safety, speed, low cost and control were important concerns. Advantages include the rapidity with which they can be developed, their extensibility, their efficient use of building plots, the open access they provide to any spot within them, and their facilitation of the orderly distribution and control of land. Too often, however, grids were hastily and heedlessly imposed, with no consideration for topography or the monotony of one endlessly repeated form. Traveling in a diagonal direction becomes needlessly time-consuming in a broadly imposed grid, and traffic bottles up at the center. Modifying the pattern helps address these problems: varying the size of blocks, building hierarchical patterns of major arteries and side streets, crossing the grid with diagonals, encircling sections with ring roads, or breaking up the pattern with squares and visual landmarks. This Starter Town, based on a plat used by the Illinois Central Railroad to plan towns along its lines in the nineteenth century, illustrates the power of a simple design. Thirty-three different towns were created using this one plat, including Quincy, Rockford and Kenkakee. To this day many of them use the same street names (tree names one way, numbers the other) suggested in the original plat.Ancient cities in many cultures began as centers for religious rituals, and were laid out in ways that attempted to reassure people of their place in an ordered cosmos. In ancient texts called Silpasutras Indian city planners detailed how cities should be laid out to keep the spirit of the dwelling place within, the forces of disorder out, and help coordinate the strivings of humankind with the larger patterns of the gods. Designed in the form of a lotus or mandala, these cities protect the most powerful building, a temple or palace, inside a series of enclosing boxes made of streets laid out in concentric squares. Different occupational groups are assigned to different boxes, with the lowest castes and occupations inhabiting the boxes furthest from the center. The most important streets are the encircling ones, not the narrow capillaries passing between them. Traffic moves in a clockwise direction as it circles from the outside in. Ceremonial processions trace this pattern on holy days, but the basic street layout encourages a sense of ritual movement even in the daily business of city life. The street layout modeled in this starter town is loosely based on that of Madurai, a city in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, one of the clearest surviving examples of the mandala form. Originally built long ago in the shape of a lotus by the Pandyan King Kulsasekhara, the ancient pattern was reworked into its present form in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.dFrom 1500 b.c.e. until the present century, most major Chinese cities were laid out in perfect squares, oriented in a ritually determined manner. Each side had three gates, and each gate was named for a month of the year. Symmetry reigned within: separated along a central axis, the left side of the city precisely mirrored the right. The city was divided into sections, progressively subdivided into ever-smaller sections, like Chinese boxes one within the other. This magic pattern was intended to provide a secure link to the forces of order in the cosmos, resonate with sacred harmony, and keep the forces of chaos at bay. This highly influential Chinese model underlies the original layout of most major cities not only in China but in Japan, Korea, and much of Southeast Asia. This Starter Town is based on Chang'an (now Xi'an) circa 700 c.e., the capital of China under the T'ang dynasty. The emperor's palace dominated the north, looking over a district assigned to lords and priests toward a city symmetrically divided into west and east areas, divided by Red Bird Street, including a twin pair of central markets.Cities laid out in straight lines enjoy periodic fashion among theorists of city form, though few actually get built. The idea is to construct a city of small, interchangeable parts linked together into a giant functional machine. String similar units in parallel lines along a continuous major transportation route and you have an orderly, extensible system that can be used to link older cities or push indefinitely out on its own. Though very small towns along a road often naturally fall into a straight line pattern, and commercial strips can recreate some of its features, large-scale linear plans tend to quickly disintegrate unless the topography severely constrains the city's growth. Uneven development of different industries and the natural demand for centralized services tend to pull development of a linear city out into the supposedly open land, or create centralized downtown areas at the tips. This Starter Town is based on a plan drawn up in 1930 by the Soviet planner N. A. Miliutin. Designed for a city specializing in auto assembly, it resembles a production line writ large. River, residential areas, roads, rail, factories -- every element runs parallel, as in a giant industrial plant. Every building is the equal to all the others of its type, with no favored downtowns or isolated suburbs. What better way to house and employ the new socialist man and woman and build the ideal classless future? Will it work? In this long valley, with steep mountains to either side, this pattern may make sense. But Sims, who have the freedom to vote with their feet, may not be the ideal citizens for a socialist utopia. Mayors of the world, unite& you have nothing to lose but your Sims!In the Baroque plan, important buildings and monuments are set apart in strategically placed spots on prominent terrain, then linked with other such buildings by major arterial roads to heighten their visual impact. The seminal expression of Baroque planning was the grounds of Louis XIV's palace at Versailles. Baroque thinking also underlay the drastic redesign of Rome and Paris in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Pierre l'Enfant's Baroque design for Washington D.C. set grand triangulating avenues connecting the Capitol, the White House, and the sites of what eventually became the great presidential monuments. The rest of the city may be organized in various waysin a relatively straightforward grid system, as in Washington, or along complex organic medieval patterns as in Paris and Rome. The intersection of the dominant arterial connections with these other patterns can produce major traffic problems in modern automobile-dominated cities, though the aesthetic appeal and symbolic strength of the axial network, making good use as it does of important features of the landscape, make successful baroque plans popular favorites with governments and citizens alike. This Starter Town with baroque influence is based on early Annapolis, laid out in 1694 by the colonial Governor of Maryland, Francis Nicholson. It was the first Baroque-inspired town in America, and the only one until the founding of Washington D.C. a full century later. It features radial and diagonal streets, two large circles set on hills for civic buildings, a market square, a residential square, and areas reserved on the edge of town for industrial activities, including a large area that might become a farm."Though many new cities in colonial America followed standard, unimaginative grid designs, some took more interesting approaches. A favorite element to mix into a grid was the public square. New Haven, Connecticut (1638) was conceived like a giant tic-tac-toe board, with nine perfect squares 825 feet on each side. The central square housed public buildings and a town green. Fifty years later William Penn laid out a much larger vision for Philadelphia, with a gigantic square divided in four sections, each of which centered on a public square. The Checkerboard Squares Starter Town is modeled on Savannah, Georgia, begun in 1733 by General James Oglethorpe. He divided his new city into wards (neighborhoods), each of which centers on a public square. The sides of some squares he reserved for commercial and civic uses (church, schools, stores), while the sides of others became residential. One larger square he planned as the location of particularly important buildings. This was designed to be an extensible system, new wards being added as needed.At the turn of the last century, visionary designers began reacting to changes in city growth brought on by such inventions as the automobile, the telephone, and electricity. The Garden City and New Town movements were early attempts to channel the urban sprawl beginning to radiate out in every buildable direction from older city centers. Star (or "asterisk") designs deriving from these influential experiments usually include major transportation arteries that radiate outward from the dense center, besides which less dense development is supposed to cluster; green wedges of parkland that separate the fingers of development and provide access for bicycles and pedestrians; and periodic concentric rings linking the fingers together, more of which may be added as the city expands. This Starter Town is a very scaled down version of the general plan of Moscow, an ancient city significantly redeveloped in the fifties and sixties along lines suggested in a 1949 book by Hans Blumenfeld, Theory of City Form, Past and Present. Things to watch for if you adopt this plan, Mayor, include congestion at the center and the tendency for regional centers to grow at major crossings.`Twentieth century residential planning has seen a wide range of fashions, styles, goals, and standards. Attempting to minimize the problems posed to pedestrians by speeding automobiles, designers created a succession of solutions, each of which introduced new problems of their own. By isolating homes in clusters of cul-de-sacs, for example, city designers succeeded in minimizing the dangers of passing automobiles, but at the cost of isolating people in pockets from which they could only escape by driving more automobiles. A new city pattern becomes the fashion every decade or so, replicated so often that you can fly over an unfamiliar American suburb and make a good guess as to when a section was built just by observing the layout of its streets. On opposite sides of this Starter Town are three such patterns: 'fragmented parallel,' popular in the 1950's, 'loops and lollipops,' a favorite of the 1970's, and 'lollipops on a stick,' which came to dominate the 1980's. In the middle is an area reserved for a high-density commercial downtown. If the Mayor builds well it should eventually sprout skyscrapers.8For decades the influential architect Frank Lloyd Wright worked on an elaborate city plan he called Broadacre City. True to its name, Broadacre City featured a broadly decentralized with a decidedly rural character, mixing farms in with homes and other forms of industry. A believer in the liberating mobility provided by the automobile, Wright banished the railroad and emphasized "spacious landscaped highways" allowing each "citizen of the future" to have "all forms of production, distribution, self-improvement, enjoyment& easily and speedily available by means of his car or plane." Looking back to the Jeffersonian ideal of a decentralized agrarian America, so far in spirit from the "barbaric" centralized cites of the twentieth century, he imagined that "the technology of Edison and Ford could resurrect Jefferson." Broadacre City attempts to merge elements of city, suburb and country into a single continuous pattern. No house is to be more than two blocks from open green space. Wright insisted that his vision was a city, despite the many critics who called it a "homogenous non-city" and "a subdivision plat for a middle-class suburb in Utopia." Broadacre City was never built, though in his plans Wright foresaw many developments that came to later prominence, including shopping malls, motels, and industrial research parks. Critics might claim that the disorganized, wasteful sprawl characteristic of much recent development is an ironic fulfillment of his utopian dream. Can you keep such a decentralized scheme going, and make it a place Sims will want to live and work?rNeighborhoods built around transit stops, in the days when streetcars and trolleys were the dominant form of urban transportation, continue to be counted among the most pleasant places to live and shop. Developed before the automobile opened the floodgates to suburban sprawl, their virtues include compactness, diversity of housing appealing to residents of different ages, mixed-use zoning, and the availability of shopping, services and sometimes jobs within walking distance of home. Many cities which abandoned their trolleys decades ago are now reintroducing light rail systems in order to combat both traffic congestion and the sense of isolation that can develop in areas overly dependent on automobile transportation. This Starter Town uses a topography loosely based on Boston, centering on a rail line that traces the route of a streetcar line which, in 1897, went underground to become the first subway in America. Instead of historical Boston, however, we have versions of what planners call "transit-oriented developments" or "pedestrian pockets." These are compact mixtures of residential, commercial and industrial zones organized around mass-transit stops (here train and subway stations) and 'village greens' visible from afar along diagonal connector streets. They can either take the form of Neighborhood developments, with a core area for shops near the transit stop but otherwise comprising residential areas of different densities, or Urban developments, in which the mix shifts toward places of employment. One node of each type has been zoned, with a third laid out for whatever uses the Mayor decides are most appropriate.