Los Angeles Metro - Natural Growth in the City of Angels

[Aspirin4o]

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area



Ok, first to sum up - this is not an actual recreation of the city itself, but a natural growth city on the territory of Los Angeles. In fact, in the end it may not have anything in common with the real city, except the name and location.

Secondly, this is almost a complete rip-off of CSGdesign's exceptional NATURAL GROWTH Journal, even down to the starting banner What can I say, some of us copy everything we see on the net.

And finally, this is my very first Mayor Diary, so bear with me here.

The first 14 entries are already published and I will just copy them over here, but after that, all will be Natural Grown.


With all that being said, let's move on to the custom content list

1.I'm using great map of Los Angeles Metro made by blade2k5 and Heblem. You can get it by clicking on the picture below
;

2.the NAM,combined with SAM, RHW, and Euro-textures (really, an essential for anyone playing the game);

3.Columbus Terrain Mod by CycleDog combined with PEG's rock and water mods;

4.BRF's Tunnel and Slope Mod;

5.Radical Ordinance v2.0 by ralphaelninja;

6.and a bunch of other BAT's - I will introduce them by the time they appear in the game.


With all this being listed, let's move on to the satellite pictures.


The area of Los Angeles remained undeveloped for many years nows, with only 3 major settlements in the whole area. They were peacful communities, living off by what they could grow, but around 1880's the Industrial Revolution reached even this remote western end of the States. The earliest written and photographed records of the Los Angeles are few years prior to the building of the railway, when the few heavy industry factories caused a population boom in all of the 3 towns in the area.


First, a shot of the administrative area of Los Angeles Metropolitan and the location of the 3 towns



The biggest and most developed of all is the one in the middle, oddly named Chinatown


Sadly, the pictures taken from the air at that time didn't have much contrast and quality (actual footage)
shot taken above the clouds


and the central part of Chinatown



The second major settlement in the area is the remote town of Eastside located....in the most western part of the administrative area. The resident of that time were living in the eastern part of a massive forset, inhabited by a ferousious pack of racoons and a wild bear constrictor, so they immortalized that in the name of their village
Eastside, in the early 1880s


And a few more shots of the town itself (actual footage)
from afar


and not so far



The last of the "three big" is Malibu - located on the east but still not so remote as Eastside
The town


and from the clouds


sadly, the only picture of Malibu showing the entire town and farmland at that point of time is taken during the night, with lowered visibility, but still provides a valuable imformation for the development level.
a closer shot



Malibu is the grain producer of the region, providing more than 60% of the whole grain gain in the 3 towns. This won her the right to have State Fair and a Farmers Market where farmers from all over gather around to gossip about new ways to fertilize the soil. Here is a shot of the Fair itself, taken from a hot-air baloon passing over it.

These were the only three clues about any human presence in the Los Angeles region. But as we follow their development, we will see how they grow or shrink in time.


...
Here are the region pictures!

year 1901
satellite view:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc302/Aspirin4o/SimCity%204/Los%20Angeles%20CJ/Region%20views/1901.jpg
trafiic view:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc302/Aspirin4o/SimCity%204/Los%20Angeles%20CJ/Region%20views/1901traffic.jpg

year 1906
satellite:
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/3048/1906z.jpg
traffic:
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/8649/1906traffic.jpg

year 1910
satellite:
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/2691/1910u.jpg
traffic:
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/8558/1910traffic.jpg

year 1915
satellite:

traffic:

[io_bg]

Great start and story! Can't wait to see how this region develops as the time passes!

[penguin007]

Awesome region and nice development so far

Will

[Aspirin4o]

Great start and story! Can't wait to see how this region develops as the time passes!

Well, thanks. I hope you will like the next entries as well and will follow them. After all, we BGs must stick together, нали? 

Awesome region and nice development so far

Will

I am glad you like it. But the future holds even better things to come.


And now....




With the aproaching of the new decade Los Angeles is introduced to a new concept - the railway.
The Federal government has decided that it cannot keep its cities separated and has launched a massive railway program. For the last few years there was a real boom of clearing and leveling land, laying tracks and chasing the Indians out of there homelands, all at once. Now this new wave of transportation has reached LA.

Since Eastside is closest to the already existing railroads, the rails that are going to be installed are funded by the Federal government and are running as straight through the farmland in the area as possible. The only thing that the town must pay for, is the extension reaching its industrial quarter, and to provide the workforce for the build.

Layout plan for the Eastern Railway Grand Line, passing through Eastside



The installment of the new line is causing concern in the other two towns in the plains - Chinatown and Malibu. So, after long and tiring debates over few boxes of Old Tennessee No.7, the town elders have come up with a decision - to build a railtrack between Chinatown and Malibu! But, since this track is not funded by the Federal goverment, the way it is going to pass through the lands is much different.

Layout plan for the Chinatown-Malibu Rail Connection Track, linking the towns


As it can be seen from this picture, it will go through some very narrow gaps between the farms, almost without any destruction of crops and farmland.

As soon as this plan is voiced out to the people of both Malibu and Chinatown, it is put in the action. When experts from the capitol come into Eastside for ground evaluation and leveling, they are called quickly into the other two towns, where they can give an expert's opinion about the future rail connection.

[io_bg]

Разбира се, приятелю! The railroad plan looks very interesting and I can't wait to see how it will be executed in your region.

[Battlecat]

The region looks very interesting so far!

[Aspirin4o]

Разбира се, приятелю! The railroad plan looks very interesting and I can't wait to see how it will be executed in your region.

Well, we hope that the first attempt of the citizens of LA to construct a railway will not be a complete disaster 

The region looks very interesting so far!

Well, thank you. I hope you come and check it from time to time.


Eastern Railway Grand Line




The purpose of the Eastern Railway Grand Line is to link all of the cities and most of the towns on the East coast. Eastside, being located so close to the planned path of the rail, is thus included in it. The work on the rail began in the first three months of 1891, with heavy machines and engineers rumbling down from North-East.The city provided them with workforce and the clearing and leveling of the terrain began.

The low mountains north of Eastside made it impossible to pass rail throught them without spending a lot of time and effort, so a new plan was devised. The rail passed right through the most northern farms, located at the very last places of level ground.

An artsit interpretation of the construction works



Soon the stretches cutting through the farms were finished.
Farms before building the railroad:


Farms after building the railroad:


Jebedia Ezekeel, a farmer whose farm was demolished beacuse the rail passed right through it was not pleased at all from this development
Mr. Ezekeel's farmland after the rail was completed:


To compensate mr. Ezekeel's losses, the city generously build a road for him and gave him the money for a new farm. That quickly fixed mr. Ezekeel's spite for the rail and he was even heard of promising to donate a land to the city for building a new park.
However, once the trains started moving on the freshly laid tracks, the farmer's joy quickly turned into anger, as he had to go through the railway crossing everyday and to time his timing perfectly to slip between the 300 trains travelling on the railroad.

Ezekeel's farm, with two trucks, utilizing a pause in the trains schedule:


But, as great everything was going, disaster struck. Heated by the enormous summer temperatures, the planks on the top of one of the houses in Eastside caught fire! At that time there were no firemen to battle the flames, so the house burned to the ground. But, as it crumbled to bits, one plank flew out and landed right across the street - at the hay stack! This unfortunate turn of events caused anotherhouse to be lost to the fires. Withnesses of the disaster could only stay and watch (and one of them took puctures). No one was injured during the incident.

The burning of the second house:


Fortunatelly, the fire didn't spread to the higly flamabble Industrial district, but this showed the citizens of Eastside the importancy of a proper fire brigade.

And here it is, Eastside's First Anti-fire Squad HQ



With this small distraction, all eyes were once more turned at the Eastern Railway Grand Line. And seven years after the first dig, the railway, passing through the town was finished, and all the stations were in place.

The rail coming from the Industrial district connects with the main rail:


At this time there were no interest in creating a passenger station, all three Eastside stations are freight ones.
First one - industry freight station;
Second and third one - grain silos for storing and easy loading of the agricultural goods.






Now Eastside is connected with the other major cities on the Coast, and is ready to start it's expansion.

[nedalezz]

This looks like its going to be one of those great MDs! Its good to see Eastside connected - Im sure it will spurn some massive growth.

[Nardo69]

Nice start. I like those timelined MDs - though or maybe because they are not at all my own style.

You should add some sidings at the railway stations as well as putting the terminals away from the mine lines as the loading would hinder the trains running through (and 300 trains per day resp. 150 trains per day and directions is quite some traffic for only two tracks ...

Take care


Bernhard 

[Aspirin4o]

This looks like its going to be one of those great MDs! Its good to see Eastside connected - Im sure it will spurn some massive growth.

Thank you for your reply. I'm sure that the town will surely grow now that it is connected to the rest of Simnation.

Nice start. I like those timelined MDs - though or maybe because they are not at all my own style.

You should add some sidings at the railway stations as well as putting the terminals away from the mine lines as the loading would hinder the trains running through (and 300 trains per day resp. 150 trains per day and directions is quite some traffic for only two tracks ...

Take care


Bernhard 

Thanks, I hope you will check this MD from time to time
It would have been good to see your advice while I was making those entries, so that I can incorporate them into the towns, but I will do so in the future - after Entry #14


Chinatown-Malibu Connection Rail



  Just a month had passed since the construction works had begun at Eastside, a new rail started to take shape. The link between the two west towns was constructed with great spirit and determination. The Chinatown-Malibu Connection Rail was the first major joint operation between the two settlements and as such, there was a great deal of attention and joy in the building process. The Chinatown-Malibu Conn, as the people called it, was progressing rapidly. The places where the Conn would go through were so well chosen that, upon completion there were no angry farmers protesting that their farms are cut off, unlike Eastside.


The Chinatown-Malibu Connection Rail shown on the new region maps:



Trains would leave every morning from the Malibu Central Station, pass trough Malibu Grain Elevator to load cargo, and head to Chinatown.
After two hours long journey the trains would reach Chinatown Freight Depot, where they load off their goods, and proceed to Central Chinatown Rail Station.

The town of Malibu prior to the rail:


And after:


A new street was constructed in order to reach Malibu Central Station. Fortunately, there was no need to destroy farm property.


Then, the rail heads straight to the North and into Chinatown:



Taking the last turn, before entering Chinatown Prefecture Boundaries:


The location of the last curve of the rail is made so, as the train makes it, the miles and miles of developed farmland just pop up in front of the passengers. Many of the Malibu residents stay speechless for minutes after seeing such a sight for the first time.


Central Chinatown Rail Station and the end of the rail line:



Central Chinatown Rail Station, and west of it, Chinatown Freight Depot, the largest freight depot in Los Angeles Metropolitan Area:



The enthusiasm of the people living in the two towns is high, as now the rail is finished. It took Chinatown five years to finish its part of the rail, while Malibu need seven. This can be explained with the fact that Chinatown has almost 50% more workforce than Malibu. Nevertheless, the Chinatown-Malibu Conn was finished and started operating rail traffic at the second half of 1898. Now the  people can enjoy the wonder of steam powered trains.

[tooheys]

Good start Apsirin4o. Some nice pics with a story to go with it 

I think your engineers may have saved some money on the rail link with a more direct route though 

Anyway, looking good and waiting to see how things develop..

Dave

PS: Don't forget to turn the grid off We've pretty much all been guilty of that at sometime.   

[Aspirin4o]

Good start Apsirin4o. Some nice pics with a story to go with it 

I think your engineers may have saved some money on the rail link with a more direct route though 

Anyway, looking good and waiting to see how things develop..

Dave

PS: Don't forget to turn the grid off We've pretty much all been guilty of that at sometime.  

Thanks for your input. There may have been a more direct way to connect the two towns, but the enginners said that this IS the way, so the elders had to go along with the idea 
P.S. Yeah, I'm sorry, the grid just crept in there


Made in Chinatown




It is the year 1901 and three and a half years have passed since the completion of the first two railroads in Los Angeles. All three towns have profited from the increased trade and traffic, but the one who developed the most, is Chinatown. He is now the officially registered as a "minor town" in the federal archives. The town has almost doubled its size and is now housing more than 6200 residents. So let's take a closer look at Chinatown and the progress he's made till now.

In just three short years the farmers in Chinatown cultivated most of the plains in the town's administrative area and proposals are heard for expanding even beyond.



Chinatown in the eve of 1898:



The ones who capitalized on Chinatown's rapid growth are the industry owners. The industry district of the town is now double it's previous size and is producing a variety of quality products - from fertilizers for the rafmers to glass for the shop's broken window displays.



But even though the industrial sector is stimulating population growth, it brings various problems to the table - air and water pollution, crime, and...industrial waste. Piles of junk and garbage heve been spotted on the corners of the streets and in front of people's homes.



This callled for a immediate action and the new town council (the town elders from before, now officially appointed) reacted fast.
A location was found for a city dump


and by the end of year 1900 it was complete and functioning:



  Another problem presented itself in front of the council roughly at the same time the dump was being constructed. The traffic at the edge of the town had become so bad, that crashes were occuring every day.


The street was quickly closed and just for three weeks the road construction teams replaced it with brand new shiny road, with stoplights.



The other end of the road was upgraded as well:





The rapid growth of the population forced some of the farmers to sell their farms to the government, so taht they can be rebuild as beautiful new accomodations for the newcomers.



And they didn't wait to be asked again


Just for a year 150 acres of farmland were urbanised and populated with Chinatowners.



Chinatown in 1901:



With this, the three-year report on Chinatown ends....for now. Being such a prosperous town, new problems are waiting for the council's desicion. And now being upgraded from elders to council, the city government can no longer do what it wishes with the town. It must decide what is best, considering the well-being of the citizens and future generations.


Here is a list of the most imminent problems:
No water in a town of 6200. Limits growth in all aspects of the town;
No schools - simce now there was no real need for the parents to send their kids to school to learn;
No hospitals - every injury in Chinatown is healed by local shamans and healers;
Limited residential space - the town is surrounded from all sides with farms and expansion is made at their cost;
Air  and water conditions - the air is getting worse and worse and in just 10 short years it will be a real problem for the breathing individuals in Chinatown (the same goes for the water from the wells, dug up in the houses back-yards);

So, councilors, the town is awaiting your desicion.

[marsh]

nice development going on.

also, have you visted CSG's site yet? Youd probably like it. Theres a bunch of Natural Growth Journal Up there.
(a link is in my sig)

[RickD]

My latest update in my MD is about road upgrades, too. What a nice coincidence. 

[Aspirin4o]

My latest update in my MD is about road upgrades, too. What a nice coincidence. 

Wow, that really is a strange twist of fate



The town of Los Angeles




With the significant increase in both size, population and production of all three towns in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, the need for an administrative center of the region was felt across the plains. So the goverment took matters in their own hands and ordered for the building of the town of Los Angeles. It would be located right between Chinatown and Malibu - just at the centre of the region. It was the prefect location for the administrative heart of LA.



Construction began in early 1901, starting from the railway:
January 1901:


and south to the shore.
spring 1901:


Los Angeles quickly grew up filled with rich government representatives, as well with ordinary working sims.
winter 1901:


Los Angeles is up to this point the most comfortable for living - she has water, adequate fire coverage, city hall to take care of matters, and the biggest comercial disctrict in a 100 mile radius.

The water tower, pride of LA:


The City Hall, where fat gentlemans in tailcoats disscuss important development issues:


The fire brigade, located right against the fields, which burn so easily in the summer heat:


And lastly, the Rich men's neighborhood, where all the councilors (and the mayor) have mansions:


Since Los Angeles is located between Chinatown and Malibu, she became a hub for their trade - so all the best stuff that the towns had to offer, can be found in LA. That triggered large commercial expansion, even at the cost of some of the residents.


The change to commercial services brought many new technologies to LA - like the first ever gas stations!


And the first medium-wealth shop in Los Angeles Metro (the big one):


Since the town could fulfill all of her industry demand from trade with other towns, the industrial quarter is much smaller and undeveloped compared with the other town's major industries.


In the middle of the second year of existing, LA is now the cemmercial and administrative hub for the region and is facing a bright future ahead of her. Boasting her proud 2972 sitizens and counting, Los Angeles can definetly hope one day to became a world-known metropolis.
June 1902:


.....................................................
P.S. There are now region views available in the first entry to give you a feeling how the region is developing.

[scott1964]

Interesting 

[Aspirin4o]

Interesting 

I hope that is a sign of approval...


Rising Sun in Los Angeles




With all the changes that happened to the towns in Los Angeles Administrative Region in the past 20 years, the population and wealth of the region boomed. It was only a matter of time before LA was marked on the map as important beacon on the West coast. And the breakthrough came sooner than expected, and from an unexpected area as well. Mr. Samuel Blakey, a logger, living on the southern slopes of Santa Monica mountains (picture of the mountains around LA here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wpdms_shdrlfi020l_santa_ana_mountains.jpg ) was hunting for game on the northern side of the mountain, when suddenly, he stumbled upon a natural cavern, releasing bad-aired smoke. Under the constantly released smoke, he spotted something that amazed him to the core of his heart - black bubbling liquid, shining like black gold in the moments when the sun light briefly shines through the trees. Mr. Blakey found oil.

  He quickly realised the importance of his discovery and rushed home. From then, he trekked from his lodge down to Chinatown. There he boarded the train for Los Angeles. Mr. Blakey  had a plen - he would mine oil! The city council was exalted to hear of the precious find (and after a telegram message to the Capitol so was the president) and quickly gave Blakey the need financial loan, and their promise that, if the oil deposits prove to be large and sufficient to sustain an oil produsing industry, he will get exclusive trading rights and reduced taxes in whole of SimNation.


proposed place for the oil dig:



Blakey lost no time and headed out for Sun Valley immediately. With him there was a group of specialists and workers, just enough so he can start mining oil without delay.
At first, nothing at the valley showed any signs that underneath it there was oil:


but soon, the harvesting began:



  As soon as the first oil bursted out of the ground a loud cheer echoed through the workers. A bottle of champagne was opened and "Rising Sun Oil" was found.
Rising Sun Oil logo:
The first oil burst:



  After just three months of harvesting oil, it was already known that the amount of oil under the moutain is huge, and of the best quality, to boost. The government specialists, now armed with proof that the dig is worth investing in, rushed to LA to deliver their reports. In 2 weeks the answer came:
  Mr. Blakey was now an exclisive deliverer of oil for the entire East coast. LA agrees to lend him financial support, as well to build the infrastructure needed for the transportation of the oil throughout the region. Mr. Blakey agrees to take full responsibility in transporting the oil to the predetermined oil storage tanks. They must be build by Rising Sun Oil company.

The gathering of oil started with full force.
The oil dig flare stack was expanded with a brand new refinery:


And sims were now moving for permanent in the newly founded town of Sun Valley:


The town has it's own steam power plant, since all of the power of the already build coal one is used for the Oil refinery:


Not long after that, industrial factories and smelters appeared, hoping to make the best of the new resource:


In the middle of March 1904, Rising Sun Oil began construction of their first oil storage tank, and the correspondening oil pipeline from the refinery to the tank.
It was completed in 13 weeeks time:




A word arrived from LA, that a railroad, parallel with an asphalted road will be constructed to Sun Valley, so that the transportation and distributing of the oil can begin.
Sun Valley, June 1904:



*With the expansion of Rising Sun Oil, Mr. Blakey is in dire need of capable people for the board of directors. Any reader who is interested, can apply and will be personally interviewed by Samuel Blakey himself - President and owner of Rising Sun Oil inc.*
*P.S. The places are only 4 at this point.*

*P.S.S. Special thanks goes to Decius, for his outstanding Rising Sun Oil rafinery, pipeline and oil sets.*

[io_bg]

Looking great, my friend, I particularly like the pipeline!

[Aspirin4o]

Looking great, my friend, I particularly like the pipeline!

Thank you, my friend, I am glad that you are pleased with the way I laid the pipes.


Oil - Connecting People



Approaching the end of 1906, the citizens of Los Angeles saw the completion of the first road connection between the towns. Interstate Road 1 (I1) is spanning between Malibu and Sun Valley, crossing Los Angeles and Chinatown. The planning and estimating of the future continuation of I1 to Eastside is curently in progress.

Interstate Road 1, connecting all towns in the Los Angeles Basin:


Of course, it is well known that this road and the accompaning railway extension were constructed for faster shipping of oil and more rapid connection between Sun Valley (and particulary Rising Sun Oil inc.) and the rest of LA. Still, corporate interests bring development and new opportunities to the towns of Los Angeles, so everyone is happy. The I1 was completed in record speed - just little under 3 years, while the completion of the region's first railroads required 7!

Now, lets take a closer look at some interesting parts of the I1.
The first thing we notice is, that opposite of the railroads which require extremely straight tracks with the minial amount of curves, the Interstate Road is actually much more bendy and curvy - almost like a river.

I1, just after leaving Malibu:




After that, it follows almost a straight route to Los Angeles, and then leaving to Chinatown.
But when entering into Chinatown Town Borders, the I1 is creating some very interesting shapes. The reason for them is that the road has to go up a hill.
So, for traffic to maintain the high speeds on the Interstate, it has to climb the hill gradually:


Soon after that I1 leaves Chinatown's borders and heads North to Sun Valley:


Now is the time to mention the upgrade of the Chinatown-Malibu Connection Rail - it was extended in order to reach Sun Valley.
The extension was cheap:


Only few farms had to be cleared and buldozed:


The Interstate and the railroad are soon joined when entering Sun Valley.
But just before reaching the Santa Monica mountains, they split again:


The rail goes West, through the lower parts of the mountain,


and the road heads East, around the hills:




Here the I1 ends - it becomes the main street of Sun Valley, ending abruptly in the fields north of the town.
But the rail goes a bit more - it splits into the industrial area and into the central part of the town:


The power plant had to be relocated in order for the rail and the train station to be build:




It was not the most cost-effective way, but the town is rich enough to afford it and they even planted a plaza in front of the station.

Thus, the transportation and shipment of the precious oil can begin. But there is still more work to be done. Experts predict that till the end of 1910 the oil produced by Rising Sun Oil will be 5 times more than the estimated oil need in Los Angeles. That poses in front of the LA city council the question how to find a way to distribute the Rising Sun Oil inc. oil around SimNation. And it needs an answer fast.

*The LA City Council is currently issuing a statement, that it is accepting all proposals and suggestion from the councilors and enginners who may be reading this, about the problem with the shipping of RSO's (Rising Sun Oil) products across the region's borders.*

[Aspirin4o]

Seas and Ports



With complete mutual consent of the whole LA council, it it agreed that building a port will be too cost expensive at this point and time. So, the only other desicion left, is to link the existing rails in Los Angeles Basin with the Eastern Railway Grand Line at Eastside. But, since the engineering of a port in Chinatown has already began, the council has decided to reveal the plans for the port to the public and to give it to be concessed. In other words, companies enter a competition and give offers to build the port at their expense. The town council will choose the one they think is fulfilling all of the conditions for effective seaport. After completion, the selected company will own the port land for 5 years and manage all trade through the seas. With the completion of the rail extension to Eastside, the construction of the Chinatown Seaport will begin.


Chinatown designated port space:


The port will be build in the Chinatown bay.
The shore is largely unused, leaving just enough space for a port installment:


After announcing the concession, a hanfull of companies proposed their projects for a port. It took some rigourous filtering, but finally, two final plans were selected.
The first one is simple and uses the existing infrastrucure in the town:


The second one is quite complex and requires  a lot of investment and terraforming. It includes a drect rail link, and leveled long bay, giving room for future expansions and improvements.
While undoubtly it is much more expensive, it is the one with much more potential for future growth:


Well, the decision where the port have to be build, does not require any imminent answer right now, as the rail is much more important, the time will come when one of the two projects must be chosen. Now everything rests on you, councilors.

Here are some numbers:
Plan A
cost ~15000
time ~5,5 years
new jobs 230 $; 50 $$; 10 $$$
income from tax ~9500 per year


Plan B
cost ~27000
time ~7 years
new jobs 270 $; 65 $$; 13 $$$
income from tax ~11000 per year