The Headwaters of Nemonos

[Giligone 10]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Update 1

Ok, so this is my first CJ so bear with me. I've been reading others for a little while now and I think I got this figured out. At least enough to start. Alright, lets get right into it The city of Nemonos was founded at the mouth of the mighty Nemon River.

 

A group of educated elites came together and saw that most cities were examples of poor urban planning and most were so poorly planned that they should be abandoned. They set out and upon the banks of the Nemon River they set up their camp. They drew up a master plan for the region. Their plan was to build very high densities over all the lowlands of the headwaters region. They declared this to be the best way to plan. The Nemon river was completely untamed and the spring floods wiped out their settlements and destroyed all their plans, with the exception of their transportation maps. The city grew slowly at first because few people were enticed by the radical ideas for the town. Eventually industry began to move into the area to take advantage of the great port prospects the area displayed.

 

The city planners had not been prepared for the success their community would soon see and so they had made the city limits too small. People soon flocked to the area to work in they new industries. The city began to sustain itself and corporations opened offices in Nemonos to serve the local population.

 

As was planned once the city had reached the city limits the planners rezoned parts of the city to higher densities. This allowed for another rapid boom in the local population. The Nemonos Regional Transportation Authority (NRTA) was set up to follow through with the original transportation plans. Thus, an expressway system was began with Highway 1. Highway 1 connected West Nemonos through the downtown core to the industry in South Nemonos.

 

The highway had the adverse and unforseen reaction of catapulting development far from the central core. This combined with the problem of political boundaries. The Nemonos planners continued to upzone the densities in the downtown core with excellent results.

 

The Nemonos financial building was constructed in only 8 months and many international banks established offices. The clean air of Nemonos allowed executives to see for miles from their upper floor offices. Uncontrolled Semi-Urban expansion continued to be an issue as the NRTA expanded the expressway system. Several small satellite communities sprang up along the highways to the west and north of Nemonos proper.

 

Soon these small suburban communties began to swallow up the growth that should have otherwise been going to the central core. Maple Heights was the first such area to be incorporated as an independent city. The planners for Maple Heights were heavily influenced by the urban feel of Nemonos proper.

 

The densities remained fairly high. This allowed for industry and commercial to flourish in the city because of the higher population. Maple Heights had the unfortunate problem of trying to build around an expressway and so the street network is very convoluted. This leads to frequent traffic accidents. Tourists are often advised to avoid downtown Maple Heights and stay on the expressway because of this. The next satellite city to become incorporated was Cairn. The mayor of Cairn considered himself a learned man and decided that he knew the right way to plan a city. Thus, Cairn does not have an official planning department to this day. Cairn grew slowly at first but once Nemonos proper had filled its borders the mayor saw his big chance. He was a firm believer in the traditional planning style of low densities and lots of green space. He also knew that if he built low density people would certainly buy the houses. Sure enough he was right. Cairn exploded and nearly filled its borders overnight. Growth spilled over into the unincorporated areas to the west. Soon there were several thousand people living in the country side around Cairn and the demand for services was very high. A group of entrepeneurs came together and drew up a charter and the town of Terra Cotta was incorporated.

 

Several other satellite cities have developed around the same time as Cairn. These were low density as well but didn't have the green space. The population of Nemonos region is currently over 100 000 and continues to grow rapidly. After several generations the planners of the region have taken to the theory propsed by the mayor of Cairn. Greenspace is being developed at a high rate. The demand for population continues to be very high. Currently:

 

The NRTA continues to fulfill its mandate and the area now has a very extensive expressway system, especially for its population.

 

Stay tuned for more updates as Nemonos continues to grow and develop into a grand metropolis!

[RHMgerards 7]

this is good for a first cj, the city layouts are good, love how you don't use the grid. looks very good so far!!

[jacqulina 162]

great start,nice banner,fantastic region and transport map.nice start to building up the area,plannings great and transport,excellent pics

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Great start! Looking forward to this one.

[mayormommy 8]

Wow, that's a lot of highway exits in Maple Heights! It looks like your city is very functional and hence growing rapidly. The suburbs of Terra Cotta are particularly nice and the region views are impressive. Good start.

[IDS2 3,346]

Wow, this is very good for a first cj; it's very realistic. I like the banking tower that you added. This looks to be a promising cj!

[Gecko_2006 1]

What a refreshing style of city building you have! I like this cj already! You have all the greenness and the realism! I'll keep a close eye on this one.

[ledge69 0]

Great work, I like how you've made your grids just a little free flowing makes such a difference. Not that I know about the traffic in your city but there do look a lot of ramps on that highway through Maple Heights.

[Giligone 10]

Ok, feedback time!

Natuursoon Thanks! Yes, I tend to stray from the grid, especially in my suburban areas. What suburbs are grid anyway?! haha. The higher density areas are grid because I find that easier with large office towers.

jacquilina Thanks, you're too kind! haha, much appreciated.

Schulmanator Are you a kingon? Thanks again, I'm looking forward to this too!

mayormommy Yes, there are alot of exits in downtown Maple Heights. The regional transportation authority is evidentially expecting exponential population growth at that bend in the highway! I've always been a fan of the region views. I like doing like a timeline thing from a tiny town to a great city and then looking back on it.

IDS2 Thanks! I try to make my cities as realistic as I can. I'm glad to see that I've achieved some measure of success. I've had that skyscraper bat for the longest time and I havent been able to use it. Finally! haha

Gecko_2006 Well I'm glad my city refreshes you. I hope to see you around as the updates progress! I must admit I'm a fan of the green space. I'm a bit of a country bumpkin at heart.

ledge69 Thank you very much! Haha, again with the talk of many interchanges in Maple Heights. Perhaps I should have a word with the NRTA... or the mayor of Maple Heights... make sure he builds enough densities to take advantage of the infrastructure.

Well, Thanks for the feedback everyone!! Its much appreciated. Hopefully a new update coming out in the next day or 2. It will likely be an indepth view of Nemonos proper. Unfortunately I've been away from my computer so far this weekend so I have no new pictures to use as a teaser .

Keep watching the skis... I mean skies...

[Giligone 10]

Ok, time for update number 2 part 1. I'm going to be focusing on the city of Nemonos proper in update 2. This first part of update 2 will specifically focus on downtown Nemonos. Here is a region shot to clarify this.

Hello everyone, I'll be your tour guide today on this tour of downtown Nemonos. Downtown Nemonos is the corporate and financial hub of the Nemonos urban region. It is home to all the major banking offices for the area.

The downtown core is very picturesque with several large lush green parks. As the metro population grows the downtown will grow in proportion. In the last few years numerous high rise condominiums have sprung up along the shoreline. There have been complaints that they impare views of the water from the rest of the downtown but the majority of people are pleased with how development has taken place in the core area.

There is still a wide variety of housing types in the core area from small houses right through to large appartment complexes.

The downtown is significantly denser than the majority of the city, which is to be expected. Approximately 1/3 of the total regional population lives in the downtown core. The downtown is bisected by Highway 1. Highway 1 is a predominantly ground level 6 lane expressway that runs through the City of Nemonos.

The Nemonos city hall is situated in a plaza on the west side of the downtown. It is surrounded by public plaza space. This space is very popular in the summer months. There are often concerts and festivals held here.

A couple years ago the city council was being constantly asked for office space. Corporate customers had rapidly exhausted the limited supply of office space in the downtown. As more and more banks and other financial institutions clammored to get offices while real estate was still relatively cheap. The council eventually decided that they really needed to do something about this. Their first step was to zone several blocks of the core as high density commercial. This helped relieve the pressure for a short while. Several multi-story office buildings went up. These were predominently filled with industrial corporate offices. The financial companies were still without home. In a last ditch effort to get these companies office space before they left town for good the city bought an entire block of the downtown core and held a design competition. The result was the Nemonos Financial Building (NFB). The NFB is a 42 story glass and steel skyscraper that is modeled after the Bancorp Tower in Portland Oregon.

The new tower went up in a rapid 8 months. The NFB immediately added a big city atmosphere to the downtown that many felt it lacked. The view from the roof is magnificent. One can see clearly for miles through the clean air.

The final stop on our tour of downtown Nemonos is South Downtown. This is a tightly packed community on the west side of Highway 1 from the core.

South Downtown is a lower income neighbourhood. As with most parts of the downtown it is mixed in its zoning with houses and commercial lands in close proximity. The infrastructure is also fairly old with many side streets dating back to the original founding. The rest of the downtown's infrastructure has been replaced to accomodate higher populations in recent years but South Downtown's streets remain narrow and congested.

Well, that wraps up our tour of downtown Nemonos. Thanks for coming along. I hope you'll join us next time when we visit West Nemonos.

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Nice update. I like the financial plaza. What BAT is that?

BTW, I am only 1/2 Klingon! ;-)

[jacqulina 162]

great update and pics,looking great so far

[Gecko_2006 1]

I love it once again! The realism of it all is absolutely astounding. I'll be looking forward to the next update.

[ElBarto92 7]

Great pics and captioning, this might just be the start of a great city journal. Looking forward to more, and good luck with the journal!

[storms991 0]

great job, but ur city needs a lOOOT more planning, it looks like a jumble of roads and zones at the moment, i would advise strongly that you place your power plants away from any development, except for I

Cheers M8

[Giligone 10]

Feedback time again.

Schulmanator Hey, thanks again. Only half klingon eh? I guess I won't hold that against you... not much you can do about that.. I suppose... haha. The financial plaza is, as I mentioned, based on the Bancorp Tower in Portland Oregon... Here is the Bat. I got it off the sim city exchange back in the day.

jacqulina Thanks again, always trying to impress the experts here! ahha

Gecko_2006 Wow, thanks! Astounding eh? Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it! haha. I had a good time putting it together too. :-D

ElBarto92 You should be the like ST masked avenger. Whenever trouble strikes El Barto will save the day!!! haha, sorry... getting a bit carried away there with my simpsons references... Thanks mucho plenty! I hope its the start of a great journal too! Only time will tell if I can sustain this initial rush.

storms991 Thanks, I guess. haha. Yes, I agree its a bit hodge podge right now. But let me remind you that this is only the 2nd update! I've got lots of work still ahead of me. Also, my region is only 110 000 people. There isn't enough demand to allow me to get nuclear or hydrogen power plants. Anyway, the point is that its a work in progress. As it grows I'll obviously have to centralize my power generation and such things. I hope you'll stay tuned to see how things develop and hopefully some of the issues you've mentioned will be addressed. Thanks for the constructive criticism.

And Now, I've been working on a new suburb on the west end of the city. Its called Emerald and heres a sneak peak!

[GreekMan 246]

very nice CJ.

[Giligone 10]

Ahh, why thank you GreekMan. Due to the time it takes to put together an update I probably won't get it done until tomorrow. But, in the interim. Heres another Teaser. This is of the new office park that was just developed in the West end of Maple heights. The large building centering the pic is the new Google Inc. office.

[Giligone 10]

Hello everyone. Welcome to the tour. Today we will be visiting West Nemonos.

West Nemonos of a district of the City of Nemonos, the principle city in the Nemonos Headwaters Region. Nemonos has a population of approximately 55 000 people, with about 25 000 living in West Nemonos.

West Nemonos is a varried area with industrial lands along the river and commercial lands along the expressways. The majority of the area is residential. A good many people work in the downtown core or in the industrial parks of South Nemonos.

As mentioned earlier West Nemonos is crossed by 2 expressways. Highway 1 goes East-West (green) and Highway 2 goes North-South (yellow)

Ok, first of all we will take a trip through the centre of town.

As you can see West Nemonos is fairly densely populated. The majority of the population lives in apartments or condominiums. Next we will visit some of the more notable neighbourhoods in West Nemonos.

First of all is the industrial era row housing.

These row houses were built during the early days of Nemonos when large industry reined supreme. Some of the buildings have been renovated into new lofts but many are still original. In recent years it has gentrified with new urbanites flocking in droves. The University of Nemonos: West Campus, is also located adjacent to this neighbourhood so many students have taken up lodging in this area. Generally speaking this area has a great sense of community.

Next stop is the tallest building in West Nemonos.

The Blue Tower Condos is a very recent construction project. It was originally older tenement style apartments, like those around it. The demand for housing in Nemonos, however, is so high right now that the land owner was easily able to redevelop it into a 16 story condominium building and sell all the condos.

From here we are going to skirt over the shore of the Nemon River where one of the most popular neighbourhoods in West Nemonos is.

Right along the shore is another older neighbourhood with narrow streets and high densities. Here many of the wealthier urbanites have taken up residence. This is one of the most expensive areas in Nemonos to buy property.

Next stop is Central Park.

In the early days there was such a rush to build that almost no parks were created. Seeing the problem the mayor of Nemonos initiated the parks project. During this period several large urban parks were built. The biggest of these was West Nemonos' Central Park. Covering nearly 50 acres Central Park has large areas of treed green space as well as recreation facilities. Several major transportation arteries cut through the park including Highway 1 and several rail lines. In recent years several large condominiums have been constructed around the park to accommodate those wishing to live near it.

Finally our last stop on the tour is the university district. West Nemonos is home to the University of Nemonos: West Campus. This is the largest campus of the University of Nemonos. A brand new research complex is under construction to the north of the University but there aren't tours available yet.

South of the campus is the "student ghetto".  Famous for its wild parties and great student atmosphere, this area is where the majority of the students live. There is a rail station on the edge of the ghetto. This gives students great access to the rest of the city.

To the north of the campus is another student neighbourhood. This is known as the "North ghetto". This area tends to house older students, many with young children come here because of the proximity to the elementary school.

Well, this draws to a close our tour for today. Once again I'd like to thank you all for coming along. Have a good day and be sure to come back next time when we go for the grand tour of Cairn.

[mayormommy 8]

Super update! The region shots are great once again, and I always appreciate a CJ author who takes the time to keep the reader oriented. My only suggestion would be use wooded lots instead of grass lots whereever you have empty space along a railroad or highway, like in the second to last picture. Nice mosaic too.

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Nice update- a pleasant town indeed

[Gecko_2006 1]

It's very peaceful. Central park seems a bit repetitive, and could use some trails and more trees. That would make it even greener. I really like your trainsportation layouts integrated with condominiums. Especially those in the student neighborhood! Nice update.

[Peng74 1]

Love the CJ Giligone.

I like the layout and how everything comes together.

Just one thing, in your parks you have used the grass tile that comes with simcity. Its so different from the grass in the park lots that it stands out. There is a set of simple empty lots in the stex with the grass that is used in the parks.

https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?id=11315

Look forward to the next update.

[jacqulina 162]

hey you dont have to impress anyone just yourself,i love what you have done so far,the region shots are great,you have done a great job of building,i like the university area it looks great,love your pics too

[Giligone 10]

Hey everyone. Thanks for the feedback. Its much appreciated.

mayormommy Thanks! Yea, I always get frustrated in a CJ without the contextual region shots. I like to see the big picture. Yea, I've been having trouble with the stock park options. In that specific case I wanted an open area so thats why its just grass... I agree it does look weird though.

Schulmanator Thanks!

Gecko_2006 Thank you. Yes, again, another problem with the parks tiles, or lack there of in my case. Originally there were lots of trees in central park but they all disappeared randomly and I didnt notice until I was photoshopping the pics. I'd really appreciate some good park mods if you know any. I tried doing a search for "park" and "trail" on the Modds page but to no avail... So, if you know any I'd love to see them!

Peng74 Ahh, I'm glad you enjoyed it! haha, yes the grass is a different colour. I wonder why they did that? Anyway, I d/led the modd! Thanks! Hopefully that will help me in my park woes. :-D

jaqulina Thanks alot! I also like the student area. It turned out better than I had intended.

Again, Thanks alot everyone for the feedback!

Here's another teaser. This is a new commercial park that just went up at a major interchange in the suburb of Kongsburg (mind the grid... I forgot to turn it off)

[gurrgkud 2]

wow u r doing a terrific job with this CJ. Looking forward to more!

[Giligone 10]

Hey, I was working on this so I figured I might as well post it in a mini update.

The Nemonos Regional Transportation Authority has recently completed a region wide transportation survey. The survey measured traffic congestion on all streets, roads, and highways and displayed them on an intuitive colour based map. Attached is a compressed version, click on it to get the full sized.

[jacqulina 162]

your welcome my friend,fantastic update,excellent commercial area very well planned,lots of nice green trees to set it all of,looks quite scenic beautifull pic.i like the transport map

[Schulmanator 5,787]

a nice transport map- an intricate design. I like it!

[owenluby 1]

I love how you make lots of greenery around your freeways... Nice!

wen