The park phalanx: a better park layout in SimCity 3000

Contributor/author(s): GenericKen

Y'know those 1X1 parks? The really useful ones?

Most of us know them well, and use them often. The general consensus on the ideal placement of parks would be in any way in which the park is alongside as many residential/commercial zones as possible. This is fine and good for light residential and such, but what of the higher densities?

Most people don't give it a second thought, but spacing out parks in higher densities is a bad idea, especially on a large scale. Sims are simply too unpredictable for you to fashion your park structure to their tiling needs. This results in a LOT of needless filler tiles. My solution? I place my parks in long lines. Think about it, would you rather have parks w/ filler tiles between them that just barely contribute to land value and population, or would you rather have parks side by side (in what I call a phalanx) that reinforce the higher land values of each other's adjacent tile's? They're great for a X7 or X9 tile structure as you can place the line right down the middle and leave space for high density, high land value 3X3 and 4X4 structures (Quiggly insurance comes to mind). Subway stations and bus stops stick in VERY nicely to alleviate high-density traffic. That, I've found, is the rule of thumb for 1X1 structures.

See also
Building a garden city
The beauty of trees
More parks and recreation
Six things that boost land values
Creating a national park