Haden Lake Metropolitan Area

[omfgitskyle 0]

Hi everyone! This is gonna be my probably 4th attempt at a City Journal. Hopefully this one will stick. This is the Region of Haden Lake. I forgot where I got it on the STEX, i got it so long ago I don't remember the name. Anyway, I've just started to build this region, and so far I've finished one city.

This is an overview of the region. Please note that I couldn't fit the entire region in one shot, and the ends are cut off.

The developed portion on the peninsula on the far left of the pcture is Westport, the city you'll see today. I decided I'm going to share my plans for this region as well. Each of the colored outlines represents a city.

Westport: The main means of exporting and importing from Haden Lake. Residents primarily working class, but including some wealthy factory owners and shop owners.

Learner's Isle: A quiet island community, home to very wealthy. Larger island accessible by ferry from Westport and a bridge from eastern mainland, smaller island only accessible by ferry from larger island.

St. Ives: The bustling, touristy center of seaside Haden Lake. Contains seaport shopping district, which brings the main source of income to the city. Most residents are middle class, and work in St. Ives, St. Gregory, or Redrock.

St. Gregory: The main beach center. Miles of beach lne the coast of this boomtown. Very similar to Santa Monica in California. Large hotels line the beach. Includes various upscale shopping districts. Most residents very wealthy near the beach, areas get gradually less wealthy as you head farther inland to the farms.

Haden: The main commercial center of Haden Lake, as well as the historic and government center. Considered capital of the region. Resident very diverse, including poor immigrants, excessively wealthy CEOs, families, and young 20-somethings loving a cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Redrock: A collective name for many small, dense, neighborhoods located on the sounthern part of Haden Island. The touristy center of Haden Island. Much like a midtown. Various universities, museums, and shopping districts. Residents primarily middle to upper class.

Alvin Bay: A quiet, very subdued community. Very similar to Learner's Isle, but not all residents are very wealthy. Most residents work in Redrock or Haden and commute by ferry. Quiet fishing community.

I would appreciate praise and feedback, but I appreciate constructive criticism the most. Any tips to help make any of my plans/cities better I will take wholly. Anyways, onto the update:

WESTPORT: THE SHIPPING HUB

Westport is located in the western portions of mainland Haden Lake, on a peninsula that stretches out four miles. Not only is a huge port located there, but an oily refinery as well. Westport is divided into two boroughs: Westport Center and Westport Heights. 

Westport Center

As you can see, the city is very smoggy, due to the oil refinery and dirty industry located in the Shipping District.  However, the entire city is run on wind, and the Clean Air Act was passed, so soon the city may not be as smoggy. Here are some closeups:

The Oil Refinery:

Where most of the factory owners live:

Westport Heights

Westport Heights is the residential area where many factory workers as well as shop workers live. It is nicer than Westport Center, and has very many quaint neightborhoods.

The most noticeable building in Westport Heights, Westport Medical Complex. Also noticable across the street is the Westport Heights HTA (Haden Transit Authority) Rail Station, which (at the moment) connects the Heights to the Center.

Reagan Street, the smaller of the two commercial districts in Westport Heights:

The larger commercial district, Westport Village.

I know I completely forgot to turn off the grid, sorry about that. But as I stated before, I appreciate all constructive criticisms. Update 2 will include both of the Learner's Isles.

Also, anyone who can direct me to low density chicago/new york style buildings on the STEX would help immensly. I plan on removing all maxis buildings (with the mod) and repacing them with custom content once I have a decent amount of it.

Thank you, please respond!

[omfgitskyle 0]

sorry about the double post. could the moderator please keep this one.

[nangolio 1]

Well I can say it looks pretty good and I'm looking forward to the next update!

Try Equinox https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?page=1&Keyword=Equinox&view=all He has tons of buildings of all styles.

For the screen shots, try using the in-game screen capture software and open it up with a program called GIMP (search on Google if you don't know what it is or where it is). You can crop out anything you don't like and safe it as a .jpg