Any help with rural areas?

[Dreamcat]

I need some help getting my farmlands realistic.  Are there any highways nearby farmlands?  How are fields laid out, in grids or in different shapes?  And how would I make most of the fields in Simcity, with ploppable parks and stuff or with the growable stuff?  And how are railroads laid out in rural areas?

[metarvo]

I like to build rural areas, and sometimes I prefer doing that over building cities.  The design depends on the actual area.  Sometimes, highways run next to farms.  In my area, highways usually connect major cities, and they pass through rural areas in between.  However, I have observed that it is unlikely that every road will be a highway in a rural area.  Depending on the terrain, farms may be laid out in grids or they may conform to rivers and other natural and regional boundaries. 

I personally have a primary grid system made up of paved roads and streets, sometimes including a secondary dirt road grid that divides each block into four sections.  I try to make my farming blocks much larger than normal city blocks if I go for a grid.  I usually zone one farm in each section, and I may fill in leftover sections with ploppable fields, particularly along diagonal roads.  I also include some Residential zoning in my rural areas to simulate rural houses, although I generally don't build these Residential zones next to each other.  This is just my playing style, so feel free to experiment.  Google Earth or Google Maps satellite view often highlights RL grid-like farm boundaries.  Railroads, like highways, tend to connect cities.  The STR (Single Track Rail) plugin simulates the single tracks that are often used in rural areas.  I hope this helps. 

[Dreamcat]

All right, thank you very much...what should I do with things like utilities and industrial areas, though?

And do you know of any good ploppable fields?

[Gringamuyloca]

Hi Dreamcat...

Have you checked out Battlecat's MD  Adara?  I'm sure you could pick up some ideas over there! He even shows some step by step pics...

here's a peek...


have fun....

[metarvo]

As far as utilities go, IRL high-voltage transmission lines often pass through rural areas.  There are some ploppable substations available that generate electricity so a huge power plant is not needed in every tile, and the lines can connect to these stations.  IRL, farms and houses don't actually get electricity from these high-voltage lines, but SC4 allows buildings to get power from the in-game power lines if they are within 5 tiles.  There are some smaller custom power lines available that can simulate the distribution lines that actually bring power to consumers.  Remember that agricultural buildings need power, even if they are just fields.

In my area, rural water companies with large water towers and pumps provide water to their customers.  Therefore, IMHO it is reasonable to place these facilities in selected rural SC4 locations.  Of course, water pipes should still be run to the buildings if desired.  On the other hand, only medium density, high density, and high wealth buildings need water.  Water is not all that necessary in rural areas from an SC4 perspective unless it is a high-wealth rural area with huge mansions.  For the occasional large factory that is built in a rural area, an individual power and water system can be built just for that facility.

As far as garbage goes, I usually just make sure that the rural areas send all of their garbage to the nearest city's disposal facilities.  I try to avoid building a landfill or incinerator on every tile.  Again, all of these suggestions are just my preferences.  SC4 allows a lot of freedom, so feel free to experiment. 

For ploppable farm fields, try the 3RREx [linkie].

[Nardo69]

I do agree with metarvo. Years ago I made a tutorial on rural layout for SC4 in my CJ at Simtropolis (that was before SC4Devotion startet ). You mind find useful; lots of stuff has been added since then but the basic line came from RL (and my knowledge as civil engineer).

You can find the it here: http://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=36&threadid=64332&enterthread=y&STARTPAGE=1 on page 8,9 and 13.

(I guess I really should move it to my thoughts eventually ...  )


Bernhard 

[Dreamcat]

Thank you for all your help, peoples.
One more question, now...let's talk about streams.  Where do they originate?  Where do they end?

Also, is there any good rural housing nearby?