Suburban Office District

[champloo08 16]

I created a city that connects all the major population areas together and has the highest concentration of office buildings outside of my core city. The demand for jobs increased more in the suburb then it has in my core city.

Is letting some highrises being built throw of the realism in the suburb and how can I either increase job demand in my core city/or decrease demand in my suburb?

Southfield's Population/Office Jobs are 100K

Portland (Core City) Population is 350K and Office Jobs are 230K

Close up of Southfield's Office District

Right of the Office District

Left of the Office District

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Not at all. I often have satellite towns and districts on a large tile. Any crossroad or other items such as the University is an excuse to build up an area. I often place such things in an unzoned area, then build around it, connecting to the main city. I dislike university campuses embedded in the CBD. Most need expansion room, and a downtown university mean a big chunk of reserved land.

I use the multiple urban pod idea to allow my cities to have typical urban sprawl.

[CutlassCieraFan 22]

Usually I don't like high-rise buildings in my suburbs, but for me that's just a matter of choice.

If you want to raise demand in your core city (without using mods), try to lower taxes. If you want to lower demand in the suburb, raise taxes. Your suburb looks nice, by the way

[Cob92 360]

What you are describing is actually an accurate representation of real-life development patterns in large cities. The demand for office space in the suburbs is quite high, and without zoning regulations to prevent office development in the suburbs, you get "edge-cities"; secondary business districts in the suburbs. Edge cities are the reason why cities like Houston and Los Angeles don't have a single continuous skyline.

[Infurno 4]

Or you can increase the demand in your suburb and create a twincity with 2 major cores like Dallas and Fort Worth.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Actually, you can scatter sub-cities around a large tile, develop them and let them merge naturally as the tile fills up. It is a bit easier than trying to get everything all in one place at the beginning.

Remember, as long term demands change, you can re-zone anywhere you need redevelopment. Nothing is set in concrete. Scattered pods can be molded into a unified whole, eventually.

[champloo08 16]

Thanks for the advice. I'll just let Southfield office district grow and just keep a watchful eye on my core city.