Entry 25 - Life of the Party (5E133)

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Entry posted by Linoa06 · October 16, 2015

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Hiya everyone! Today I got to set up different commercial specialisations around Glenvale, so let's dive in our shiny (almost) brand new districts!

The Marigold Tower is finally lit up! In the background, a new tower was erected : the Grand Hotel tower. Tourists can stay here if they have the coin...

Let's go on the other side of the Burbank Bridge today. The South Beach waterfront area is full of hotels, with a lovely view on the beach and the sea.

The entire area is known for its vibrant nightlife, complete with midnight basketball games! However it's mostly full of tourists, who enjoy the smooth sandy beach.

One of the best known nightclubs in the city is the Celsius - in fact they're a chain of nightclubs spread across the entire nation. Every VIP in the state has been there at least ten times, and the fashionable TMZEEE tabloid has set up its HQ just next door!

The waterfront was recently redeveloped, too. A new ferry terminal was built in South Beach to replace the old terminal, which was far too remote.

The beach was recently cleaned up and also redeveloped. For instance, a cycle path was built on the beach itself, as well as a little embankment to prevent flooding during storms and high tides. From the gleaming city to the beach in just two minutes - who could say no to that?

The waterfront isn't the only place where you can have fun at night. The CBD has its fair share of entertainment going on, too!

Restaurants, nightclubs, pubs, neko cafes and more await you in the streets of downtown Glenvale.

Admittedly, not everyone buys into the city nightlife experience. For some people, a good evening out is spent with friends, fishing and watching the city from afar.

For others, though, the Marigold Tower is like a beacon of fun and wealth in an increasingly cluttered landscape.

Taller towers are springing up across the city. However it is unfair to say the Greens are all about consumerism : the building code has been tightened to be more environmentally friendly, and many of these hotels have solar panels to fight their carbon footprint. Isn't Glenvale busy? Most hotel rooms are soundproofed, though, and what a view they offer!

It only really gets quieter far into the night, as partygoers wait for a night bus to take them home. It's a great thing buses run 24/7 in Glenvale - but many remember a time where they stopped running at 7pm.

The nightclub fever is mostly limited to the southern part of the city center. In other parts of the CBD, nights are a lot quieter, much to the relief of local residents.

As Glenvale becomes more of a touristic destination, the city council has decided to completely overhaul Concord Square, with basins on two sides. Also note the new bus lanes.

This overhaul did come with extra billboards and advertising, though..

The City Hall plaza was also rebuilt and now features a forest of metal cubes, meant to represent the transition between modern men and nature.. or maybe a wishful Minecraft update.

More billboards, more hotels..Somebody who lived here ten years ago would probably have trouble recognising the area today!

The sun comes up over residental areas of Glenvale. This is Edenvale, with Willow Glen in the background.

Partygoers are going to sleep, while other residents of Edenvale wake up, prep the kids for school, get ready for work...

It almost feels like two opposite worlds clashing yet cohabiting together.

The CBD is not the only area of town with higher density buildings though.

Willow Glen in particular is home to many housing projects and business parks.

While these two worlds seem diametrically opposed, they share the same transport network - Edenvale is really maybe 15 minutes away from the city centre. Except during rush hour.

Or you could take the metro! Most higher-density areas are linked by subway, and there is a new line in the works!

The metro station at Willow Glen is linked with the Willow Glen Bus Hub, where many long-distance and city buses call at.

By metro, it takes 20 minutes to go from Willow Glen into town; by bus, it takes half an hour. Many buses act as feeders, though, rather than linking the CBD to the suburbs directly.

No matter how you do it, it means you can enjoy an evening out in the city centre after work before coming home. The public transport network is very efficient.

Finally, let's look at a new development in the outlying islands! A new airport was opened! Glenvale/Kingscote Airport (GKA) is meant to replace the older airport. With eight gates and two runways, the airport is eventually slated to replace the nearby South Kingscote Airport, which will need to close as the costs of refurbishing it are, in fact, bigger than those of just building a new airport with modern amenities.

However it's probably not a perfect solution : it is not yet opened for business, and so far there is no public transport link to it, short of taxis. The runways are also shorter (1300 meters), which prevents bigger planes from landing in normal conditions. In time, though, it is expected to handle smaller regional passenger planes. There's also the issue of pollution, which the Greens in power have yet to address...

The older airport will probably focus more on cargo with the regional airplanes gone, but it will also handle the international traffic, and at such is undergoing renovations too.

With the new GKA airport acting as a hub to all of the regional airlines and the older GCA airport handling cargo and international traffic, Glenvale might well become an air transport hub in short order, especially if the current hub at Albany closes.

How far we've gone! A moribund manufacture-heavy city slowly turns into a thriving financial city and touristic hub and gains 100.000 inhabitants over 15 years. For the Green major, though, things don't look so easy. Some voters think she's acted contrary to the values her party stands for in the name of progress and glory, what with promoting air transport, tourism and unchecked consumerism. She's becoming popular again but the Greens are disowning her. What if she truly was the... life of the party?