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The City & County of Honolulu

Started by sumwonyuno, July 31, 2009, 01:29:49 PM

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gottago

fascinating MD, glad I found this! Hope you'll post some closer views of the navy base--it's enormous, love to see some details.

danielcote

I like that you're getting more farms!

sumwonyuno

#62
The North Coast is the least populated, the least urbanized, and the most rural area of Community Island.  However, the Kapetapeta Highway through the area is often jammed with Sims visiting from other parts of the island or other parts of the SimWorld.

The following pictures were taken in July.  During the summer months, the beaches of the North Coast are extremely popular with locals and tourists.  The ocean is calm and clear.  During the winter months, storms in SimAlaska generate waves that reach the Paradisian Islands.  The composition of the beachgoers change to surfers and spectators.



Katuku is an area at the northern part of Community Island.  It has always been based in agriculture since the 19th century.  It was a major stop for the old Community Rail & Land Co. (CR&L Co.) passenger and freight rail lines.



The Tonu Bay Resort is the furthest north one can go on this island.  Tonu is the Paradisian word for turtle.  This hotel is the only one on the North Coast.  Its 880 acres include two 18-hole golf courses and a mile of shoreline.  The State has an interest in buying the property, in order to preserve the area from further development.




Twilight Beach is a shoreline neighborhood that boasts the best place to watch the sunset anywhere in the SimWorld.  The sun goes below the horizon just next to the Vai'anae Mountains of Ka'ena Point, the western tip of Community Island.



Jujukea is the largest neighborhood of the Community North Coast.




Vaipea Bay is the most prestigious of the surfing sites of the North Coast.  Geography and weather allows the area to have the some of the largest swells of the season.  Towards the mountains, Vaipea Valley is a nature preserve.



Tare'iva is an ocean-oriented neighborhood.  Fishing and surfing are integral parts of the lifestyle here.  In it's post-contact history, Tare'iva was a small plantation village and later an outpost for the Simerican military.  Today, tourism is dominant.  Shops and restaurants line Kapetapeta Highway.  A bypass road has been built to relieve traffic in the congested historical corridor.




Vaiarua was a major hub for the CR&L Co. rail lines, connecting the North Coast and Central Community to Leeward Community and Capitalis.  Though the rails do not exist anymore, its farms and produce processing factories are still here.




Pokure'ia, by comparison, is the quietest of the North Coast neighborhoods.  The Governor Highway is left uncompleted about a mile west from the last house and farm.



Madinghill was an important captain of industry of Community Island in the 19th century.  The CR&L Co. was founded by him.  His decendants would also form other large businesses that influenced the growth of Capitalis.  The only remaining airfield on the North Coast is named after Madinghill.  It was built as part of the massive military expansion during the second SimWorld War.  Today, the Simerican military leases it for use by small civilian aircraft.






***Replies***

Battlecat:  My family and I drive through the area about once every month, and I never get bored of it.   ;D
Driftmaster07:  SimCity can't fully capture how beautiful it really is in real life.   ;)
rooker1:  Thank you for visiting!
danielcote:  Heh, the farms were there all along.  :P
gottago:  Thanks for stopping by!  Here are the closeups you requested:








The City & County of Honolulu, a Mayor Diary based on Honolulu, Hawai'i.

mark's memory address - I've created a blog!

joelyboy911

Looking good there. Though I think the carparking area is a bit too big for the number of shops there, in the pic of the commercial area.
SimCity Aviation Group
I miss you, Adrian

danielcote

You sure like you're suburbs don't you.  :) You should get some sea walls for that industreal area too.

sumwonyuno

#65
Between the two mountain ranges of Community Island is a wide plain, a fertile cresent.  From Vaiarua to 'Eva, the islands' best farmlands are here.  Agriculture was the economy between the mid-18th and the mid-19th century.  Because of the boom years of Capitalis, government reforms and the shift to tourism, significant land was transformed into suburban neighborhoods.





Vatiava is the neighborhood closest to the geographical center of Community Island.  Although it is some distance to sandy beaches, it does have shoreline property.  Lake Lisnow is the largest above-ground freshwater reservoir on the island.




The Olde Plantation is a world-famous attraction that tourists and locals always stop by when travelling around the island.  Though plantations had been already around for several decades, a few years after the turn of the 20th century, a man named Olde would plant the seeds of Paradise's premiere crop, the pineapple.  The rich volcanic soil and the frequent rain showers of Vatiava created the perfect environment.



Besides its agricultural roots, Vatiava also has military ones.  Two nearby installations, Coldfishe Barracks and Rhewlee Airfield both serve the Simerican Army.





Pirirani is the largest master-planned suburban neighborhood of Capitalis.  It once had some of the most-prized farmland available in the islands.  In the 1960's, the landowner of Pirirani decided that the switch to urban development would serve both the growing R$$ population and its own long-term financial security.  The neighborhood boasts full K-12 education, hospitals, police, firefighting, recreation, retail and even a high-tech park.  Nevertheless, an overwhelming majority of its commuters have to drive to the south shore for employment.



Kunia today is a snapshot of Pirirani's past.  It still has rich, usable farmland.  However, toward the south, urbanization is encroaching.




Vaikere and Vaiji'o are suburban neighborhoods that were also previously farmland.

Vaikere is to the north of the P-1 Freeway.  A golf course runs between groups of housing and creates a green belt around a retail complex.



Vaiji'o is a neighborhood nestled in between the Kapetapeta Highway and the P-2 Freeway.



The Central Community Regional Park is one of the newest public parks built by the City, and is among the largest on the island.



Vaijatu is a neighborhood with a plantation past.  It was also a junction for rail lines from 'Eva, the North Coast and Central Community Island to Capitalis.  Today, highway lanes replace the rail lines, and a sprawling suburban neighborhood replaces almost all of the farmland.



The Vaiji'o Peninsula is owned by the Simerican military.  It has leased land to the City for recreational use.  The Vaiji'o Soccer Complex is the largest of its kind in Paradise.






***Replies***

joelyboy911:  Heh, much of that parking lot is actually devoted to the two 18-hole golf courses.

danielcote: I actually don't like suburban development in real life.  Yeah, there should be some seawalls by the submarine ports.  I need to look again through all the seawall choices (land-based or sea-based).  I'll redo the harbor early on when I rebuild the island because it's such a flat area.


The City & County of Honolulu, a Mayor Diary based on Honolulu, Hawai'i.

mark's memory address - I've created a blog!

emgmod

Quote from: sumwonyuno on October 16, 2009, 12:18:56 AM
Kunia today is a snapshot of Pirirani's past.  It still has rich, usable farmland.  However, toward the south, urbanization is encroaching.
And I'm a part of it. I just wanted to say something so it seems like I haven't left.

Tomas Neto

Woowww!!! That immense rural areas!!! Awesome update!!!  :thumbsup:

danielcote


Earth quake

Impressive Suburbs, I really like the mosaïc of the region. &apls

Battlecat

This is continuing to look great!  Nice job on the central valley farmland!

sumwonyuno

#71
***Replies***

emgmod:  Heh, I knew you were going to comment.   :D
Tomas Neto:  Thanks for visiting!  Glad you've enjoyed this chapter.
danielcote:  There's more suburbs to come!
Earth quake:  Thank you very much!  I'm pleased that you like the mosaic.
Battlecat:  Heh, as always, a big thank you for your continued patronage.




To everyone:  Now, I know I've promised a main story for this mayor diary.  I've written much of the text for it, but I haven't had the time this semester to open up SimCity and put game pictures together to go with the story.  I won't be able to do that until winter break (mid-December).  I'll be spending the break working on the main story, and that means the main story is delayed until at least mid-January 2010.  There are 3 chapters left in the Island Tour arc.  I can post one every 3-4 days, so that by next Friday the arc is done.  Whether or not I do that, there is the matter of what to do until 2010.

For those that just haven't been picture-skimming, I'm sure that you know Capitalis is based on Honolulu.  I've decided to do a real Island Tour.  I wish I could afford to take pictures from a plane, to compare that view with the SimCity perspective.  The next best thing is pictures from ground level.  I've been taking my camera around and taking pictures.  Almost all of the pictures I've taken are from me being a passenger in a car.  I'm not going to take pictures of everywhere on O'ahu.  I just can't drive wherever I want, and I don't mean to cover all parts of the island.  At the very least, I want everyone to have a better understanding of the Capitalis region.

I've said it many times before, there is very few custom content available for Hawaii.  Maybe there will members that are inspired from my real life pictures to create something.  I wish I could BAT or mod; I'd have to figure out how to do it on my Linux setup.


The City & County of Honolulu, a Mayor Diary based on Honolulu, Hawai'i.

mark's memory address - I've created a blog!

emgmod

I think I can take pictures during my commute to school. Which would be pictures of traffic because the freeway network here skips landmarks.

danielcote

ok but you're going to run out of room some time  ;)

sumwonyuno

#74
The 'Eva Plains is the largest flat expanse on the southern shore.  It is also the driest area on Community Island.  According to scientists, the plains were formerly coral reefs when the sea level was higher.  When the ocean receeded, sediment from the Vai'anae Mountains accumulated onto the new land.



In the 19th century, a businessman named Pellcamb bought 41,000 acres of land from the Kingdom of Tavai'i in 'Eva.  He originally wanted to start a cattle ranch, but he realized the dirt was rich, volcanic soil.  To solve the lack of water, Pellcamb pioneered the use of artesian wells.  He hired workers to dig through the soil, the coral reef remains and through caprock.  The workers broke into one of the vast freshwater resovoirs under Community Island.  This technology allowed the proliferation of planations throughout Paradise.



The early entreprenuer Madinghill had other ambitions for the 'Eva Plains.  He wanted to create settlements for Sims to live.  The water problem had been solved.  But the distance to Capitalis was great. It took about a day's journey by horse.  Madinghill saw an opportunity to overcome the distance problem.  His Community Rail & Land Company (CR&L Co.) laid the tracks to provide efficient passenger and freight service between Capitalis and the rest of Community Island.  It is here in the 'Eva Plains that the only surviving rails of this vast network are left unused.



Though, it would be over a century later that government planners would draw up policy that would bring Madinghill's original ambition to fruition.  Fastforward to the second half of the 20th century, Pellcamb's decendants were following suit with other major landowners to urbanize its farmlands.  Though the Pellcamb family did not want to create just another suburban Paradise neighborhood.  The vision was to create a true second urban center on Community Island, the Leeward City.  The 'Eva Development Plan is a City document that is the master blueprint for land use on this part of Community Island.



The easiest thing to build on the 'Eva Plains is housing, as residential is always in high demand.



However, infrastructure, notably roadway capacity, is often not proactively put in.



The prime case study of this is 'Eva Beach.  It was a small neighborhood on the shore of the ocean.  To the east was Fort Rewave, a military installation built to protect the western entrance of Diamond Harbor.  The four-lane Fort Rewave Road connected the base and 'Eva Beach to Vaijatu.



In the boom years of Capitalis, 'Eva Beach experienced growth, but not on the scale of other areas of the island.  The State did improve the connection of Fort Rewave Road to the P-1 Freeway.  Though, further improvements were not needed yet in 'Eva because traffic was still light and resources were needed elsewhere on the island.




However, in the 1990's and into the 2000's, the real estate bubble influenced the State, City and developers to dramatically ramp up the building of homes along Fort Rewave Road.  Today, 50,000 residents live along the 5-mile corridor, largely automobile-dependant, and with worst daily commutes in Paradise.




The State is in the process of improving Fort Rewave Road, and it is also building a second north-south road.  Despite this, the 'Eva area population is projected to almost double, to over 90,000 residents, in the next 20 years.






***Replies***

emgmod:  That be great if you could get pictures of Waipahu/Kunia and Kailua.  Guess there won't be any pictures of 'Ewa or Waianae.   &mmm  I'm gonna go around the island tomorrow; my family wants to eat some Kahuku shrimp  :) (I'm allergic so I'm gonna go eat fish).  I'll be taking some pictures around the Capitol, Ala Moana and Waikiki on Sunday.

danielcote:  Room?  I'm not sure what you mean by that.


The City & County of Honolulu, a Mayor Diary based on Honolulu, Hawai'i.

mark's memory address - I've created a blog!

emgmod

I think danielcote means that the island will run out of space to pave suburbs. If that happens, it would look awesome and be really bad for traffic.

Battlecat

Nice update!  Interesting goals for that section of the island, does that match the reality of what the government wants to accomplish there?  I'm really looking to see photos of what you think is important or interesting on the island!  Particularly since it may be quite different from what the average person sees when visiting as a tourist!  Keep up the great work!

Earth quake

Impressive Update, the Overview of the region is really wonderfull. :thumbsup:

Tomas Neto

My friend, this suburbs are great!!! Awesome work!!!  &apls

sumwonyuno

#79
To the north and west of 'Eva Beach, there are three major developments that are planned to start construction within the next several years.

To'ojiri is the largest development envisioned yet for Community Island.  However, it distinguishes itself from other suburban neighborhoods by being a place where residents can live, work and have amenities and services in a pedestrian and transit-oriented environment.  Though criticisms include the worsening of roadway congestion and paving over some of the best farmlands in Paradise that is still in use today.



The University of Paradise system has its main campus at Panoa and numerous community colleges.  Currently, the University of Paradise West Community is technically a branch of the system, but it is housed in several portables at the Leeward Community College in Diamond City.  The State has plans to create two new suburban-style campuses for West Community, one being another community college and another being a fully featured compliment of the main Panoa campus.


[University of Paradise at West Community Campus]


[West Community College]

The Ka Pakana Ari'i is planned to be the third largest shopping center in Paradise.  In addition, three highrises [two hotels and one office tower] will be built.  The hope of these three projects is to lessen the traffic load to Capitalis, while encouraging economic growth on the 'Eva Plains.



To the northwest of the future Ka Pakana Ari'i site, is Kajorei, the core of the Leeward City.  Housing developments were built here first.  Today, retail is moving in.  To a lesser, slower extent, government offices are being added, or even relocated.  Once major office space starts, that will become a major catalyst for economic growth.  As much office space as Downtown Capitalis could be built, all surrounded by mixed-use and transit-oriented development.



To the north of Kajorei, Pakakiro is one of the older neighborhoods in the area.  Like 'Eva Beach it has been under major growth over the past few decades, but it does not have as bad congestion problems on its sole artery because of the proximity of its connection to the P-1 Freeway.  Pakakiro is expected to grow significantly in the future also.  New developments on each side of Pakakiro are planned to become two other mountain side neighborhoods.



To the south of Kajorei is Karaeroa, a decomissioned military base for the Simerican Navy.  The plan is to give the land over to the State.  It holds special potential as the largest single tract of developable land on Community Island.



To the west of Karaeroa is the Pellcamb Industrial Park, the largest in the islands.  The majority of Capitalis' industrial capacity is located here.



In the park, the City has the C-Power waste-to-energy plant.  About 500,000 tons of trash (all residential, green waste and other combustibles) are burned to produce electricity.



Karaeroa Harbor is under construction as the second commercial harbor of Community Island.



Ko'orina is a hotel district being built an alternative to Vaikiki.  The focus is more on the local sense of place and more importance on Native Paradisian culture, though Ko'orina is priced in the higher end.






***Replies***

emgmod:  Oh, that makes sense now.  Heh, the "Keep the Country Country" (and the anti-development) people won't let that happen.   $%Grinno$%

Battlecat:  Yes, I took the Development Plan that the City made (with years of area residents' involvement) and drew an overlay on top of the region view.  The RL pictures and main story will both be about three major themes:  transportation, development and the environment.  Heh, I'm finding that my RL pictures are in two big categories:  things tourists normally see when visiting and things that locals see on their daily commutes.

Earth quake:  Thank you!!  Hope part II gives another perspective to the area.

Tomas Neto:  Thanks, and there'll be more, I'm sure about it.   ;)


The City & County of Honolulu, a Mayor Diary based on Honolulu, Hawai'i.

mark's memory address - I've created a blog!