(Update 4) Candar, City on the Edge of Decay
The Commonwealth of Traebia
Update 4 - Candar, City on the Edge of Decay
Welcome to Candar, Simtropolis! We are in 1961 and the federal elections are behind us now, and every candidate promised endless growth and wealth upon Seahaven and its coastal communities. As the nearby states of Winhill have fallen in a civil war, refugees begin to emigrate north, to Traebia. Every single community has grown by at least 3'000 inhabitants in the state.
Every community? Well, it's not quite true. Candar City is a frontier town of the Commonwealth, more than 50 km away from Seahaven. It used to be the second biggest town, in fact, and based almost all of its economy on fluvial and sea trade...but the great Seahaven has become bigger and now overshadows the harbour in Candar. Despite a new railroad connecting Candar to the rest of the world, the fragile trade dwindles and the city peacefully, but surely begins to decay...
Replies
Jamonbread, TayMay27 - I've previously replied, but I hope the current slopes will look much better. Even though it's harder to build. 
Moriadne - I hope no trees have grown in baseball fields since I took my screenshots, even though Candar is in decay.
JGellock, SimCoug, Forthwall - Thank you 
I've installed the Ennedi Slope Mod, which works fine, but takes a lot of getting used to. You'll see in Updates 5 and 6, the RHW was a pain to develop (and with NAM31, I'm going to rework a few quirks.)
10000000000000, Rex12345 - Thanks I try to put detail as much as I can, even though it does prove tedious and time-consuming.
Grstudios - Thank you! Hope I'll keep up!
Titanicbuff - We at the Great Central Railroad do not sell over-the-counter drugs. However, we do serve excellent meals aboard our intercity trains. Guaranteed horse-free.
Pixelsims - Indeed, Ayleston derives its name from Aylesbury. I had to change the name as another town further north (Amesbury) took precedence to remove any possible confusion.
Map
The Commonwealth of Traebia c. 1961. Notice how many cities have grown in the last few updates : most importantly, cities on the coast are becoming more and more industrialized, especially with the Interstate being built (you can spot it on this map) and the harbor in Verona becoming bigger and bigger.
Albany and Traebia City have doubled these past two years - mostly, well-off refugees from the war-torn Winhill decided to move to Traebia to save their belongings and start anew in a town that has some of the lowest residential taxes, and offers plenty of opportunities. In fact, the Timber Maniacs magazine named Traebia "most promising State of the Decade".
But Seahaven's success is not harmless; in fact, Candar's thriving economy was killed, and the town's progress was shot dead.
Welcome to Candar
Candar has always striven to be a modern city. Despite its heritage, it has always tried to be avant-garde on many designs. The Goldstein Bridge, built in 1959 to carry State Route 6 and, hopefully, Federal Route 51 when it is approved, is an example of this modernity blending with the old infrastructure and buildings of Candar.
Waterfront - Charming, is it not? Well, not quite. Candar is an inland city, but the wide river allowed it to develop a fluvial trading economy. Until the late 50s, even sea-going vessels came to dock at Candar. Nowadays though, Seahaven's piers are more suited for the job. It's dangerous for a town to be based on a single, main economy. It will not take too long before the collapse of the harbour brings about the full decay of the town. Look at all these abandonned and dirty buildings! Not to mention the apartments that were built in prevision for a flattened road that was never built, or the near-lifeless docks. Candar was just taking its flight, but Seahaven's booming expansion overkilled Candar's economic drive.
Richmond - Not everything looks bleak. The streetcars in Candar carry a lot of passengers throughout the city, and the central station is simply monumental. Dubbed "the little great station", its size hides a train shed in its northern wing, and foreshadows future northward development for the Dollet and Springfield Railroad - Traebia City, Garland and beyond. Whether this will halt the decay in the town, no one knows.
Richmond - Overview of Richmond, Candar's wealthy district. Even here, decay strikes and mansions seem abandoned.
Cathedral - The Church of Hyne is a monumental church (that is being surpassed in Traebia City by a faux-gothic cathedral). It was built in 1750 to commemorate the One God, Hyne. Today, amongst the little paved windy streets in Candar, it dominates the skyline of the sleepy city.Religion in Dollet is dominated by the Church of Hyne, though smaller religions exist. This particular church, though, is known all over Traebia; but again, tourism is not Candar's forté, and there are many opinions on whether the cathedral will help revitalize Candar, or crumble with it.
Victoria Estates - The northern suburbs of Candar are from a time when people still flocked to work in the harbour. Nowadays, it is far from everything and slowly falling into quiet desuetude. You can still spot the northern end of the streetcar line, on the right hand border, but it takes horribly long to reach downtown.
Stanton - More surburbs! Those are somewhat newer, and still healthy enough. Most of the people in here work in the factories on the waterfront. Notice the older road textures to the south, as well as the train station. If you're going westwards in Traebia, it's as far as you can get - Yauland begins just past the railroad right of way.
Whistler - Candar has a huge industrial district that seems to offer a bit of resistance to the collapse of the town economy, thanks to the rail link to the rest of the state. Will it prevent urban decay? Well...not sure. Many industries are planning to leave for "greener" pastures, in fact, and planned extensions to the industrial ward will most likely never come true.
Waterfront - The waterfront area slumbers, quiet yet uncertain. Many houses are abandoned though you can still admire the tight grid of the town's old areas. In the past two years, 10'000 people have left, and mostly settled on the Traebian coast. Plans to improve the streets were once considered, a mere few years ago, but have been scrapped since.
East Shores - On the other side of the river, tenements and businesses were constructed in prevision for an eastward sprawl that mostly never occurred This side of the city is known for its cabarets and theaters, but also for its gloomy and empty structures.
Overview - We conclude with an overview of Candar, the big city that held big promises but came short of fulfilling them, the town that was about to shine but was killed before it could. Isn't it quite the irony that the "town of progress" that brought the modern resources the state needed is brought to decline by this very drive for progress? I don't know, but what is certain is that the booming economy Traebia has experienced the past few years definitely does collateral damage - two sides of a coin, perhaps.
Who knows what awaits the town in the future though? Will the surviving industry and some tourism help keep the town afloat, or shall the declining Candar trip over the edge of decay into urban blight and oblivion? Until then, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback.
-
2
4 Comments
Recommended Comments
Sign In or register to comment...
To comment in reply, you must be a community member
Sign In
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In NowCreate an Account
Sign up to join our friendly community. It's easy!
Register a New Account