Entry no.1 - Intro
As some of you may know I already have a CJ for this region in the forums. I was hesitant at first to use the CJ section since I wasn't sure if it would be as user friendly as the more traditional forum section. But I think its time I went with the times seeing as how the CJ section is the more active place for CJ's. I'm not sure yet if I'll maintain both journals, but this one will be less involved, that is over descriptive. The primary focus of the other CJ is the 'M Project' - short for the Modernization Project. Essentially showing the conversion of the regions highways from maxis to RHW bit by bit. This version won't have any such specific focus, it'll be a more general overview of the region. There will be fewer before & after comparison shots, less talk about the changes over time and more to the point of the here and now. By changes over time I'm referring to the changes of my playing style and not really historically, which I talk about extensively on the other CJ. I'll also be cutting back the use of statistics and explanations for things which are not really SC4 related or are outside of the regional limits, though there will still be a little of that here too.
Region synopsis:
The Pretoria Metropolitan Area is the largest city on the west coast of the country of Albion which is located on the earth-like planet of Azura. It is the capital of the district of Corsica, one of 17 districts in Albion and lays next to the Medina Ocean. In terms of its location and prominence an accurate comparison to Pretoria-Corsica-Albion-Median ocean-Azura would be Los Angeles-California-United States-Pacific ocean-Earth with a slightly cooler climate more akin to Portland Oregon's. However the build form of the city is more Hong Kong than Los Angeles.
There are a few significant differences. The largest being that the planets population is about ten times lower(pop 735,000,000) than Earth's. While the planet is of a similar size as Earth and likewise similar in gravity, air pressure, temperate, etc. the ratio of land to water on planet Azura is 5:95 verses Earth's 29:71. Thus cities are far smaller. A city of 2.5-3 million is the equivalent to a city of about 20-25 million on Earth. A city like Pretoria with a metro population of nearly 2.4 million is the equivalent in prominence and stature to a city like Los Angeles. Its the only way I can justify having a ridiculously high number of skyscrapers including over a dozen 'supertalls' in a metro of only 2.4 million. Though I suppose there is that freak of nature Dubai...
The other big reasons for this choice it that while objects are vertically about as tall as on Earth - skyscrapers and other tall structures, of which there are many. Horizontally is a different story. IRL your average freight trains and rail yards are over 2 km long and your typical airport or port facility for a large coastal city of 2-3 million people is larger than a big city tile. Of course I do applaud those who've made airports approaching that size and I certainly intend to make one far bigger than the in game airports, just not 4 x 4 km big! So hence the idea of; well of course certain things would be smaller in a less populated world. In any case, they'll still be much larger than the original in-game lots.
Otherwise most other things are very similar to Earth. For instance the planet and city is inhabited by humans or sims if you like. The appearance of buildings are largely the same as is the progression of technological development and the measurements of time as well as the current date itself to avoid any confusing. There are a few minor technological differences probably the most notable of which will be the communication/telecommunication network. All that said it's perfectly fine to go ahead and think of it as being just another city on Earth as well. Overall its not really something that I'll be referencing often or even something that you need to keep in mind. Some of my statements will make a little bit more sense though if you do. Such as my last big reason for it - that being I just really wanted the opportunity to label certain objects as being the worlds tallest or biggest such and such.
Brief Historical synopsis:
The city of Pretoria was established 230 years ago making it a relatively new urban center on planet Azura. It is the 3rd largest city in the nation of Albion with a population of 2.4 million, but is by far the largest city on the west coast by the Medina Ocean. Furthermore economically it is the second largest behind only the east coast metropolis of Old York. Albion itself is the second most populated country on Azura(pop 89,000,000). Pretoria is also the capital of Corsica, one of the 5 original states of Albion. Which is a prominent feature on the nations flag(one of the 5 central stars):
Yes it's rather plain. Hopefully I'll get around to improving this someday but it's not that high on the agenda.
Pretoria experienced its first major population boom from around 1920 to 1930. A second larger boom occurred from 1950 to 1970 due to the discovery of natural resources nearby. It was during that time that the first parts of the highway network were originally built. After that the city experienced several short periods of growth and decline finally culminating in the great worldwide recession of the early 90's. At that time Pretoria implemented many economic reforms and while it was initially one of the hardest hit cities it was also one of the first to turn around its fortunes. Since then growth has continued unabated over the past 2 decades, a period of which saw the rise of many glass and steel skyscrapers while the regional government padded its coffers. This in turn enabled it to finally properly reconstruct the highway system during the 2000's. As of now the region is only 2/3 complete development wise, with a population of 1.4 million.
A recent(but not current) regional view:
This gif shows the development of the region over time, as well as the random transmutation of rocks the region has suffered from over the years:
A very basic transportation map:
The major highways, called the 700 series, are numbered and the commuter rail lines are shown in yellow. Highways which predominately travel in a north-south direction are even numbered starting from the east; highway 700, 702 & 704(not shown - recently built). Those which travel primarily east-west are odd numbered starting from the north; highways 701(not built yet), 703, 705, 707 & 709. I am working on creating a street map using maparts as the basis.
The fundamental transportation network, highways and rail lines, were all planned in advance of development. It was quite the change from the "build it as you go" approach I used when I first started playing SC4. There have been numerous revisions to the plan over the years as seen here. Also noted is the location of train stations and major utilities such as power plants, water filtration and sewage treatment plants.
Freight and passenger train service is completely separated as per federal legislation requiring such. The commuter rail service, called Fastraxx, operates 7 lines including an airport express line. So far only 4 of which have been fully built out. There are two competing freight companies with entirely separate systems. The two competing freight railways are the ICR: the Intercontinental Railway and the GWR: the Great Western Railway. Overall, the ICR has a larger rail network than the GWR, however the GWR has a the larger presence on the west coast of the where Pretoria is located. There was talk of a merger between the two large freight companies during the last recession 2 decades ago but since then they have both diversified and been highly profitable. There are several junction points between the two freight companies to allow for interchanging but there are no connections between the passenger lines and the freight lines since the legislation in place prohibits freights service on any line where passenger service operates for safety reasons.
overview of the larger cities:
Astoria - pop. 815,000(80% complete)
noted for
the financial capital of the west coast, the A&B Tower, the WN Building(world nations) headquarters of the allied nations, the massive 700-705 interchange, numerous landmark supertall structures, numerous sporting facilities and convention centers, the busiest freeway in the world
Major Interchanges
700-705 and 702-705
Tallest Building
Empire Plaza(tallest building in the world as determined by roof height) 1,614ft(491.9m) 110 floors
Calgon - pop. 387,000(95% complete)
noted for
the majestic Cisco Bay Bridge, a massive carter impact site, large steel smelter, ICR rail yard, harbor, cement plant, soccer stadium, telecommunications tower, chronic unemployment and lastly... its constantly expanding fudge factory, if you know what I mean.
Major Interchanges
700-702-707 and 700-705 and 705-707
Tallest Building
AIC Plaza 675ft(205.7m) 33 floors
Dresden - pop. 88,900(98% complete)
noted for
its mountainous terrain, large harbor & massive power plant.
Major Interchanges
700-702
Tallest Building
The Euro Center 432ft(131.6m) 36 floors
Cisco Bay - pop. 27,100(100% complete)"
noted for
its cable stayed bridge, once the longest in the world of its kind.
Major Interchanges
702-709
Tallest Building
Cardiff Capital Tower 306ft(93.3m) 23 floors
Lindin City - pop. 29,400(80% complete)
noted for
its historic downtown & large central park.
Major Interchanges
702-707 and 705-709
Tallest Building
Mary Arms Hotel 281ft(85.6m) 19 floors
The above images were taken at the end of last year and cities have since been largely. Lindin City for instance is almost unrecognizable. Hey, why ruin all the surprises? Also only about 20% of the regions highways were made with the RHW mod then. All the highways in the region have since been converted to the RHW standard.
And that concludes the introduction, thank you for your interest.
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