Industry Question

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

When it comes to my commercial zones, I have no problem managing them and they always become popular  with all kinds of traffic. If commercial lacks workers, buildings will abandon. But my industrial zones seem to be completely different animals.

For one, industry don't seem to grow very much at all, especially when High Tech arrives. It seems more active if dirty industry is there (I like to tax them out). And my passenger trains do not seem to be popular with industry either (at least in my city).

Industry seems to be able to exist all on it's own. I have a large industrial city that don't seem to attract any real traffic from surrounding cities. I get the caked up avenue that connects to it but on the rail road all you would hear is crickets.  I also have a highway system going through it too. But the Sims only enter through that one avenue up in the corner.

85% of this city do not show any workers commuting to and from work. Not a car, bus or train. But it seems to strive as long as the freight truck's commute times are not long. It's basically a freight truck city that seems to have no consequences for the lack of workers. So who the heck is driving those trucks?

(Yes I have bus stops and all the mass transit amenities in my industrial zones)

So my question is, what's really up with industry? What are it's dynamics and how do I get workers to populate them?

[vilbe 6]

i've found it helps to intergrate industry into the city, to best make use of workers and avalible transit options. i've found the best way to make use of frieght options is to have quite a bit of rail around the industry area..

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

Vilbe you're right. When I put industrial parks throughout my city, close to populated areas, They show much traffic and are well populated. But am I to give up on making large industrial cities that are meant to not have any residents or commercial zones? Does making an industrial city actually work?

I also recently made an industrial area along a coast in a mixed populated city. It seems that the further away they are, the less Sims commute to them. But they will travel far for commercial jobs. Am I wrong?

[vilbe 6]

they travel to commerical jobs to a degree. there is a known commute path bug, that is the reason behind the difference between "jobs" in a querry, and commuters in the route querry. also, industry jobs i think are caculated by anchors/blocks rather than per building..call me old school, but i've never been one to really believe a city of purely one zone type be it residential OR industrial OR commercial would thrive very well, with how buggy inter-region play seems...

you can still build industrial complexes and the like, and if you want your sims to work at them figure a way to relatively nearby accommodate housing..

[City2TheMax 3]

I am definetely no expert on industry, but I have noticed a few things.

First, industry only serves to provide jobs for sims. When your sims start out, they are of lower wealth of course, and look for low wealth jobs. By taxing out dirty industry they won't want to move in (obviously), and your sims will still be too poor for high tech industry to develop. Therefore you won't get much growth in the industrial sector. Once you have a good number of rich people living in your city high tech will develop.

The traffic thing is different also. Industry does thrive on "exporting" by getting trucks out of the city. I'm not quite sure about the traffic dynamis though. I don't think you have to worry about them though as long as jobs are being filled. Mass transit is not necessary (except maybe for buses if commute time is too long); just make sure your industries can "export" things out of the city quickly.

It would REALLY help if you could show us some screenshots, including your commute statistics. I hope this helped a bit.

[sim_city-freak 0]

i have  a city that all the industry does is makes freght trucks and nobody drives there cars or take mass trans to get to work so if i query the building there will be only one arrow .. coming out of it for frieght turcks but i don't really care it is ok i don't seem to have problems it is like the industry is not even there

[hammypotter 0]

in my case.... i can build nice hi-tech but not for manufacterer .... the only buildings i get r goth mechanics and a bunch of mixin tanks >< .... i really want to get some bigger factories.... anyway... i have no problem with sims gettin to their factories. i think u just have to make sure that ur residential area r close enough. ( i have sims travellin from 20 grid squares and some even travel on to the neighbor city )