Cascadia in the Pacific Northwest

[kunik1962]

Hello and thank you for taking time to look at my first ever Mayor's Diary.   I have recently rediscovered SC4 after many years and I am blown away by the great community here at SC4 Devotion and all the wonderful content.  You have inspired my desire to create, and I send out my heart felt thanks to all the developers that have contributed their time, and creativity.   I hope I can do justice to all your hard work that will be shown here. 

Table of Contents

1.  Geography and Early History  (Below)
2.  A Region is Born!
                                     
Now for the boring stuff about the Cascadia Simulation:

1.  I am using the NAM (January 2009), CAM, RTMT v3.51, and the LEX DVD Vol.1.
2.  The region is going to evolve naturally and I will not be using any type of cheats i.e. the BSC Funding Mod (unless specified in the Diary)
3.  I look forward to comments and suggestions and would love any advice that may be offered.


The Cascadia Region

Cascadia is located in the Pacific Northwest in the area that encompasses the Coastal Regions of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. 


Lewis and Clark were the first Euro-Americans to extensively explore the area from September 1805 through May 1806.  They spent a very wet winter along the Oregon coast before beginning their return voyage east in the Spring of 1806. 


They encountered a rich land populated with a diverse culture of Native peoples that were collectively referred to as the Chinookan People.   These people thrived in the region with its large bounty of salmon, berries, wild game, and other resources.  Most lived in established permanent communities.   


Sadly, these Euro-American explorers also brought disease.  Upon their return to the Sim Nation Capitol, and the publishing of their encounters, interest in the region started a migration of Euro-Americans westward beginning with fur trappers working with the Hudson Bay Company.   This migration also brought death.  Between 1806 and 1870 over 98% of the Chinookan peoples succumbed to various diseases that ravaged the area in which they had no natural immunity.   When settlers began arriving in-mass after 1840, they found a rich land almost entirely empty of native peoples.

The Empty Region Geography


The Sim Army established Fort Teyah in 1855, at the strategic point where the Wy'east and Skagit Rivers empties into a natural harbor.  A small settlement began to be established. (Sadly no photos exist of the early period) 

The Skagit River was named after Henry Skagit an early settler and fur trapper with the Hudson Bay Company.


The Wy'East river is named after the snow caped mountain of the same name where it's headwaters form.  There are many Native American legends on the origin of the name and those that wish to explore this interesting history can find more information  HERE
.


The original Fort Teyah burned to the ground in 1857 but was rebuilt.


After a massive flood in 1861 the settlement and fort were abandoned.  Today, trees cover the area and no structures remain standing from this period.


Yet, the future is bright.   In 1890 the Sim Nation enacted the Railroad Land Grant Act.  This Act granted large tracts of undeveloped land to the railroads under the stipulation that they construct rail lines.  This land could then be sold at a profit to settlers and merchants attracted by new opportunities in the west.

By 1900 an extensive Rail network was in place in Cascadia.  The region is ripe for development. 
(Constructed using BSC Funding Mod) 


(edited this first page extensively to create a Table of Contents and proper introduction - Jan 26, 2009)

[kbieniu7]

Very nice start. The region view is beautiful 

[Nexis4Jersey]

Nice Region there kunik1962, can't wait for more development!

[Fabian93]

A great start here 
I'll look forward to more from this MD 
Fabian

[kunik1962]

A Region is Born

The year 1900 saw the founding of two cities in the Cascadia Region -- Allentown and Fort Teyah.   Allentown will be a major industrial and transportation center.  The Sim Nation railroad completed construction of a freight terminal to handle the shipping needs of this growing region.  It is expected that industry will flock to this area when land is zoned for construction. 

(Both areas are just starting so there is not a lot of eye candy or impressive planning.  The City Council continues to enforce a strict budget.)


Fort Teyah was founded in 1900. 


It has grown to 1,500 souls, with a vibrant farming community.   The demand for agriculture land continues grow.


A small commercial district supports the farmers.  The city fathers take education seriously and have already funded a brand new elementary school.   


Region View with 1500 souls


(Future Updates)
1.  The present plan is to continue the growth of agriculture while staying in budget (No cheating here).
2.  The town of Wy'East will be established when Fort Teyah reaches 5,000 souls.

[alan_vzla]

welcome to SC4D! So far so good, may I suggest turning out the UDI icons before taking a picture

[kunik1962]

Update 1, Region size now at 32,000 souls

Thanks to Kbieniu, Nexis, Fabian93, and Alan_vzla for the nice words of encouragement so far.   Also thanks for the tip on the UDI icons showing up in photos, I will make sure that does not happen anymore   

At this time I have been working on Fort Teyah, which has now grown to 28,000 people.   I am still managing to stay in budget with a surplus of around $420,000.   I do use the U-drive it scenarios to increase funding at times.   Mayor rating stands at 97.   I am dealing with issues where demand for Commercial / Office lots has gone sky high and I could literally spread the commercial district to a very large area (Tested this out).  I would rather the business district built larger buildings instead of simply sprawling. I am not sure why that is happening but I have taken a slow growth approach.   Any thoughts on this?  I am still figuring out a lot of the simulation and as always I love advice and thoughts on doing a better job.

Now for the good stuff

The region continues to grow with urban sprawl now encroaching on the farm land along the right side of the Wy'East River.


The City Fathers have made a major investment in a rail system to move farm produce faster to the market.   The main rail line runs north along the Wy'East river to the town of Wy'East.


This passenger station was also constructed to move workers quicker and easier to the farms and it is already running at 92% of capacity.


Bruno Skagit, leader of Protect Our Outlandish Crops (P.O.O.P. for short), the urban growth opposition group meet with the mayor and other civic leaders recently at the Island of the Sun restaurant, where a compromise of sorts was reached.   


The city agreed to construct a rail line for moving produce faster to market and in return P.O.O.P. agreed to the construction of a new Light Rail project in the expanding commercial district.

Here is a photo taken just before construction began


And here are some of the first Light Rail Trains moving along the new avenue.


Finally here is a shot of the emerging central commercial district.   The city fathers look forward to the growth they envision will occur with the construction of the first Light Rail transit system.   They see the writing on the wall.   Demand for agriculture land continues to decline (even with taxes lowered to 6%) while demand for commercial and office space is at a premium.   The future of P.O.O.P. looks very bleak in their opinion. 


(Future Plans)
1.   It looks like I need to expand the Light Rail System to the southern industrial region of Allentown to reduce traffic (Not sure totally sure on this and may test things out)
2.   I need to work on Allentown and offer an online update.   Industrial areas confuse me and I would love advice on the best ways to handle that area.   If anyone has a nice link to a Mayor Diary that showcases industrial regions I would love the link.   At this point I have not found much information on these types of regions.
3.   Need to expand the rail network to the town of Wy'East

[bat]

Great work there so far on your new MD here!
And nice start! Your city looks wonderful! Looking forward to more...

[projectadam]

kunik1962,

I love the Northwest and your interpretation of it. I like the history that you started out for the region and I also like that you let the reader know what the future plans look like and where you plan on going with the region. Welcome to MDing, SC4Devotion and cannot wait to see more

[sim_link]

You are starting off very nicely. The region shots are stunning! The river is great, as is the central commercial district.
Keep it up, it looks great!

[calavera]

Looks great!  How can I get the same trees you are using?  I just created a semi-scale region of the kent/auburn valley in washington from usgs data... now I need to put some northwest-accurate trees into it!

[kunik1962]

Looks great!  How can I get the same trees you are using?  I just created a semi-scale region of the kent/auburn valley in washington from usgs data... now I need to put some northwest-accurate trees into it!

Here is what I am using.   Good luck with your region.

1.   The CPT OlympicTerrain Mod1   LINK
2.   The CPT No7a Olympic Coast Tree Controller   LINK
3.   JRJ Street Side Mod   LINK

[Battlecat]

Nice start.  I fully approve of your terrain choice!  I have a fondness for that terrain mod as well, what with living in the Pacific Northwest.

[Sciurus]

Your city is nice, but I advice you to do your fiedls rounded, maybe it'll be beter

[dedgren]

I'll echo our friend Sciurus- Cascadia really is quite nice.  I've been through the pics at my leisure this evening and really hope you've only just decided to take a February break.  You've got a great start here- loved the history part, and it would be a treat to see more.


David

[Pat]

I agree with David it would be great to see more here of Cascadia!!