St. John County

[magee_b]

A long time MD lurker, I have been experimenting recently with different building styles and the plopping of large scale urban and suburban areas. Inspired by some of the works of Mr.Beer (Lincoln & Omaha, Nebraska - special thanks for the Lincoln map) and the MD of Eagle Island by Cockatoo, I decided to take a leap and begin to showcase the developing region of St. John County. Of no relation to my home region of Saint John, New Brunswick, I've put in a mix of classic North American suburban sprawl, with some mid-rise and low-rise wall to wall urban development (a big thanks to spa & jbsimio for their work).

This is my first MD on SC4Devotion... welcome to it! 

St. John County, though a region-in-development, is home to two urban centres, St. John and Grand Forks, as well as several other small towns. Due to the suburban corridor between the two centres, these smaller towns are becoming incorperated into the surburban sprawl and associated development. It is a region that focuses greatly on its higher education opportunities (St. John has two urban universities) and its desire to protect its parklands and expand its recreational opportunities.

I'll start off with a few pictures of the CBD of St. John proper.










... A typical St. John residential area.

And to close a few pictures of the university areas.




I'll be updating with regional pictures and showcasing further developments in the days ahead.

Cheers!

[TheTeaCat]

Welcome to SC4D
And thats a nice start too.

I particularly like your MIS into CAT transition and the entrance/exit downtown too - nicely done

You've gotten quite a bit of development already so it will be good to see what else you have for us


TTC

[Toichus Maximus]

Very nice start! The city reminds me a bit of White Plains, NY. Just one thing--remember to turn off the grid when you take pics! 

[Tarkus]

I must concur--this is a fantastic start you have here.  I really like what you've done with the downtown, and I see there's RHW usage.  

-Alex (Tarkus)

[bat]

Welcome!

And that start is very great! Nice pictures of your city!

[Earth quake]

Welcome to sc4 devotion.
And excellent start.

[jrhnemo]

Great start! The city definitely has character! My favorite area is your immediate downtown, the building selection is fabulous!

Cheers! 

[magee_b]

Replies:
TheTeaCat Thanks for being the first to comment! A lot of development is already complete, but nowhere near enough for a region shot. Everything is still very fragmented as I develop different sections at a time.
Toichus Maximus mmm, thanks for reminding me about the grid. I'm on a mac so I still get some remains of grid with or without the actual grid. I'm just so used to it I never really noticed  Thanks!
Tarkus There is plenty of RHW use. I am still fooling around with it, but I don't have any innovative intersections in this one (yet)  . I think my entry a month or two ago into the picture contest was probably the highlight of my RHW use so far. Linkie
bat Thanks for the welcome... more pictures on the way soon!
Earth quake Thanks for your comment. I've been around for a bit, i'm not big on posting often. I just come for inspiration/ideas and to check up on developments.
jrhnemo I'll try to include a better picture of the downtown area and its surroundings in the next update. Thanks for the comments!

Thanks everyone. Stay tuned for more pictures/updates!

Cheers!

[magee_b]

UPDATE #1

I was working on expanding some of the residential areas in St. John, using a mix of the new york, chicago and houston style sets, and adding in a few neighbourhood schools and sports fields.









A quick shot of how the residential areas look as they stand now.



I promised a few more shots from around the CBD and hopefully these will give you a better overview of the city as well.







I am hoping the area between Renforth Boulevard (on the waterfront) will work out as a great spot to develop a riverside trail system that will run along the length of the city, connecting it with its neighbours and acting not only as a recreational opportunity but as a means to encourage bicycle commuting. Nothing like a riverside bike ride into the city from the suburbs to start your day.



Finally a sneak peak of an area currently in development...



Thanks for stopping by! 

Cheers!

[CasperVg]

Lovely! Try getting the grid of when taking picture (press G). Other then that, lovely and great usage of the RHW/MIS

[TheTeaCat]

Very nice update

I like the residential sprawl and the overall shots of the area.
The only thing you might like to try is a water mod. There are many available and it would compliment the look of the city much better
than the original maxis water (which imho is just all wrong  )

Tiil the next time

TTC

[Schulmanator]

An excellent start! You have some great civic spaces in your city and I look forward to more.

[bat]

Great work there on the suburb and CBD, magee_b! Looking forward to more...

[jrhnemo]

Fabulous update! The airport looks really good so far, I can't wait to see more of it next update!

Cheers!

[warconstruct]

very beautiful update magee_b !!

I like much the general sight or one can see your suburbs, it is splendid !
and your airport is very realistic and quite carried out 

Cheers a+

[sebes]

Great start of this MD! I really love the looks of that suburb in the 5th picture!

[GreekMan]

This is tight! This is a great downtown!
I look forward to more updates!

[Cockatoo-210893]

Wow! This is your first MD, I'm very impressed. 
Great to see that your city if full of custom content too, a common newb mistake that you have avoided- making a boring all Maxis city.
I'll have to watch this one- great start!

[magee_b]

RL caught up to me for a little bit this week, I have a bit of downtime in between papers and will hopefully get some pictures up later today when I get home for the long weekend. Working on a really interesting paper about the growth of cities in the global south over the 21st century. If any of you are big on 'factual' reads check out Mike Davis - Planet of Slums. Pretty deep and mind-blowing stuff. 

Replies
note to all. I have turned off my grid finally    The issue still remains that when running the mac version of SC4 you get stuck with a grid pattern on the lot pieces, which gives the appearance that the grid is still on. You'll see what I mean when I post some pictures of the Greater St. John International Airport.

TheTeaCat a water mod maybe something i'll look into. I had used a few in the past but never really remembered removing them. I'll do some experimenting in the near future and see what suits the terrain best.
warconstruct thanks for your comments! Airport pictures will be coming next, so hang tight!
sebes Thanks for your comment. I really want to try and slowly and subtly break away from the grid the further I move away from the CBD. We'll see how it works out.
Greekman Welcome to St.John county! I look forward to more comments and constructive ideas just as much as you look forward to updates 
Cockatoo I really enjoy the work you have been doing with your own MD. Thanks for stopping by. And yes, SC4 would not be the same without the plethora of user generated content! Although my suburbs are mostly maxis-based housing, but i'm always looking for some great lots/BATs to spice it up!

I'll be back soon! so don't fret.

Cheers!

[magee_b]

Update #2

So here it is. Update number 2!

Today I'll be showing off the Greater St. John International Airport. Located not too far from the CBD it has convenient connections and direct flights for business travellers and vacationers alike. Built after the region's first airport ran out of room to expand with the growing region, it has been a catalyst for development around the town of Lancaster and has led to improvements in the local highway system.



International concourse/gates.


Terminal Entrance and Transport Hub. There is a separate road system that was originally connected from downtown to the Airport but has since expanded to add a few stops along the corridor, acting as a light transit of sorts (known as the S-Link). Hybrid busses run uninterrupted by regular traffic on the road system which runs parallel to the highway. The Transport hub at the airport is the western terminus of the S-Link.


Approaches to 36L/R, Intersection of Route 1 & Route 9 with Lancaster Rd. Note the S-Link route in the top left corner as it wraps its way under Route 1 and then under Airport Drive.


A few of the hangars owned by local businesses and FBO's (fixed based operators)




Downtown Lancaster


The region is slowly progressing. Next update I should have some news from the other major centre in St. John County, Grand Forks.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers!