kinnoch

Thanks, Damastius. I'd love to see more from you as well!

Thanks! As you can tell, Theodore and Adelaide are both competing hubs, with Adelaide being the chief centre for mining and mineral exploration and the future home of the Olympic Games, whereas Theodore is the centre for commerce and banking. Most international flights are out of Theodore, however Adelaide will soon be having a massive airport expansion which will see a Domestic runway and two large international runways.

Originally posted by: Jesse Swiss wow that looks good, how long did it take you? Guaranteed you took longer than me quote> Well, thought I only have to do it properly once!

Well, this has been posted in the Union thread, but I need to post it here as well. Here is all the background information about the city that I forgot to provide earlier. Welcome to the Europa Association. An Alliance of member cities contained within one state, with all city states working cohesively together in order to succeed socially and economically. Each city state trades with the others, with specialties being spread across the Alliance. In order to better integrate into the rest of the world and improve its international relations, The Alliance (commonly known as the group of twelve heads of the association, with one head appointed from each region) have decided to attempt to join the International Union. The Europa Association has the following government structure: The Alliance 12 Members, one from each major geo-economical region, appointed and serving at the bequest of the Sub Committee. These members are unbiased and are not politically aligned. Sub Committee Each city state contains 24 democratically elected members. The two major political parties in the Alliance are the National Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. There are also some minor parties and independents in some cities. Each city is divided into electorates, evenly divided by population, to ensure a fair, representative balance. The cities are governed by the conventions of Responsible Government. Local Municipality Each city contains an executive, appointed arm, of ten members, which decide on minor decisions, such as zoning, waste disposal and service maintenance. The Courts Europa High Court - The Highest Court of Appeal in the Association Supreme Court - Situated within each city state, this is the highest court of appeal in each sub region Magistrates Court - The first court in each jurisdiction (civil and criminal). This is where each case begins. There are also numerous other administrative boards which I shall not go on to mention at this stage. The total population of the Alliance is 4,258,185. This is spread amongst nine city states. The relatively small population figure is due to the small land area of the Alliance, with it actually being one of the most densely populated, most urbanized countries in the world. Two major cities have in excess of 1,000,000 inhabitants, with the remaining cities ranging from 500,000 people to 250,000 people. The smallest city states contains only 112,000 ~ inhabitants. Below is the Europa Flag: Below is a Map of Europa, with each city state and the capital of that region. Below is a Map of Europa, with each city state colour coded according to the majority political party. Below is a Map of Europa with the air transportation links. Below is the Flag Carrier of Europa. The dominant exports of the alliance are oil, wheat, vegetables, grains, rice, fruit, wine, uranium, cobalt, white-goods, electronics and telecommunications. The dominant imports of the alliance is electricity, water, automobiles, steel and tourism.

So, I see that this is where the union is at. Well, I'd love to join. Welcome to the Europa Association. An Alliance of member cities contained within one state, with all city states working cohesively together in order to succeed socially and economically. Each city state trades with the others, with specialties being spread across the Alliance. In order to better integrate into the rest of the world and improve its international relations, The Alliance (commonly known as the group of twelve heads of the association, with one head appointed from each region) have decided to attempt to join the International Union. The Europa Association has the following government structure: The Alliance 12 Members, one from each major geo-economical region, appointed and serving at the bequest of the Sub Committee. These members are unbiased and are not politically aligned. Sub Committee Each city state contains 24 democratically elected members. The two major political parties in the Alliance are the National Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. There are also some minor parties and independents in some cities. Each city is divided into electorates, evenly divided by population, to ensure a fair, representative balance. The cities are governed by the conventions of Responsible Government. Local Municipality Each city contains an executive, appointed arm, of ten members, which decide on minor decisions, such as zoning, waste disposal and service maintenance. The Courts Europa High Court - The Highest Court of Appeal in the Association Supreme Court - Situated within each city state, this is the highest court of appeal in each sub region Magistrates Court - The first court in each jurisdiction (civil and criminal). This is where each case begins. There are also numerous other administrative boards which I shall not go on to mention at this stage. The total population of the Alliance is 4,258,185. This is spread amongst nine city states. The relatively small population figure is due to the small land area of the Alliance, with it actually being one of the most densely populated, most urbanized countries in the world. Two major cities have in excess of 1,000,000 inhabitants, with the remaining cities ranging from 500,000 people to 250,000 people. The smallest city states contains only 112,000 ~ inhabitants. Below is the Europa Flag: Below is a Map of Europa, with each city state and the capital of that region. Below is a Map of Europa, with each city state colour coded according to the majority political party. Below is a Map of Europa with the air transportation links. Below is the Flag Carrier of Europa. The dominant exports of the alliance are oil, wheat, vegetables, grains, rice, fruit, wine, uranium, cobalt, white-goods, electronics and telecommunications. The dominant imports of the alliance is electricity, water, automobiles, steel and tourism.

Great Photoshop skills! If I had more time around university, I'd spend more time touching my images up.

Oh goodness, I'd love my Alliance cities to be a part of this.

Originally posted by: Damastius Yes I also do that with my new city - I started one without cheats and stuff to get the real rewarding feeling, and I missed that feeling! It now has about 8,000 citizens and has a cashflow of 30k per tick. I want to grow slowly to avoid future problems and never-stopping random sprawl, however that seems to get difficult.quote> Do you find that as you start to grow your city, you start off with really good intentions, but as you get going, you lose a little bit of focus on the planning side of things and head straight for growth and size? I tend to start off with a nice grid layout for my old downtown, near the water, then add resources, build the suburbs, leave land for freeways. As soon as the game starts lagging or what not, I start to lose focus and build rapidly - probably simply because I get annoyed - and soon, I have problems, either with budgeting, or with the city being too large with unevenly spaced resources. I have to say however, Cities XL 2011 is definitely a lot easier to manage than the previous version, in terms of service provision - costs are much more realistic.

Originally posted by: Damastius Good job on the suburbs, looks very well developed.quote> I'll get around to posting the other neighbourhoods soon, just have my final exam tomorrow and then I can dedicate myself to a bit of 'virtual' planning. Originally posted by: Ilikeseattle I love your city journal. Have you considered joining the Union?quote> I can't say that I have, mainly because I don't even know what the union is! More info? And as for the below, That's right - I tend to start off with a grid pattern for downtown areas, because it is more realistic, moving onto traditional suburb type zoning and layouts as my cities start to sprawl, going back to unique layouts or grid layouts for new developments after a while, as a form of saying, yes, planners were right the first time, they are better for walkability and grid layouts do make for more efficient public transport systems. Originally posted by: Jesse Swiss Originally posted by: MayorMarty Awesome, I need to learn some more interesting suburb layouts :-Dquote> My answer = Linear zoning! M y suburbs are done with linear and im guessing thats how he makes them, Great Job on your journal!

Welcome to Greenwood Parks I will begin to delve into the different neigbourhoods of the city, starting with a low density suburb to the south east of the CBD. Greenwood Parks was built in 1999 at the peak of Adelaide's sprawl policy. Above is a shot of Greenwood Mall, a large shopping centre built to service the surrounding community. With three major department stores, two supermarkets, a cinema complex and almost 250 speciality stores, it is one of the largest malls in the city. The mall has fantastic public transport connections to the local district. View of the surrounding suburb from the roof of the mall. Wide dual-laned roads criss cross through the development, however with the exception of services and retail, planning policy of the era dictated that no residential housing was to be situated along these main thoroughfares. Traditional 1990's housing stock. Paths and bike trails were built throughout the development for safety and to connect houses with retail and local schools. It is one area of the city which has been very well maintained, thanks to a 20 year joint maintenance agreement between the developer, Delfin, and the local city council. Some of the more expensive houses back onto and have their own private access to the numerous walkways throughout the development. The subway was not extended into the development due to the car oriented nature of the development, however with change of a pro-environmentalist government, a subway station was built at the nearby Highway Business Centre, with three major bus lines connecting to all areas of the suburb, including the mall. A sprawling nature of the development can be seen from the above overpass over the City Bypass, with the Highway Business Centre seen to the left of the image. At night, Greenwood Parks seen from Uptown. Overhead of the suburb.

Okay, I haven't made a post in a while guys, because I have my end of semester exams at the moment, however there has been a request for overheads for the Alliance City of Adelaide, so here they are. Above are the residential living areas of the city. Above, you can see the road networks and the three major future proposed / under development projects in and around the city. As you can see, the city started with a grid pattern, as with major American, Canadian and Australian cities, becoming more car-oriented and organic in its growth as you reach the suburbs (cul de sacs, dead end roads, for example). Coming into the 21st century, the city has realised that this form of growth is no longer economical from an infrastructure perspective, and the city planners have decided to make better use of the existing underground subway network, extending it to outlying areas and connecting outer suburb bus networks to stations to make the system more efficient (as buses can navigate streets better in the suburbs and can also still connect numerous subway stations together). The Proposed Northern Harbor Development will consist of large Executive apartments and several office zones, connected the city via a dedicated high speed rapid transit line. The Future City Freeway Bypass will be used as a way to allow major freight to bypass the city and curb further urban sprawl, acting as an urban growth boundary of kinds. The current major development underway is a medium density Transit Oriented Development, with a large central town centre with subway connections surrounded by apartments, parks, community facilities and housing. This development will be replicated, if successful, at twice the size just north east of this development. Above are all the major districts of the city. They will be detailed below: Central - The high density Office Centre and economic heartbeat of the city, with major mineral company headquarters and the head banks of the Alliance (AllianceOne and EcoCity). Uptown - An old, low density neighbourhood, undergoing gentrification and urban renewal, especially surrounding major subway stations. Airport - Airport office and economic zone, with major hotels and "five minute" rail links to downtown and the city High Tech zone. High Tech Zone - The major regional centre for IBM, Intel and Apple. South Bridge - An upper class district, with mainly mid to low density housing for executives and elites. Gentle hills, off road bike paths, trails and strips for dining and elegance. High Park - The largest central population base of the region, this area consists of large apartment buildings, retail, shopping and a chic urban feel. Greenwood Park - A sprawling, low density residential development, with adjacent highway office parks and a decent bus network connecting to the nearby subway. Cul de sacs, schools and children. Houghton - A mid density office and retail district, with large malls and the latest in city fashion. Valley Park - Looking for a nice home on stilts overlooking.... more homes on stilts? Then move to Valley Park, where land developers unwittingly decided to ruin a beautiful hillside by covering it in more houses than which was economically and environmentally sustainable. Paulman - A new Transit Oriented Development, largely self contained with a town centre, community services, and low - medium density development, on smaller allotments in order to contain the site and promote sustainable urban design. Broxville - An area of the city that is in dire need of redevelopment. A largely ethnic, lower class community, this district was largely unplanned and is lacking essential community services. Mawson - The First of Adelaide's new TODs (Transit Oriented Development). Quick Subway connections to downtown with Skilled apartments and housing built around a planned downtown district. Golden Grove - A largely self sustained satellite city, built on a subway loop (three subway stations) with a very efficient bus system with three major lines. Boomed with the news of the new Olympic Zone in 2010. Olympic Zone - Well, this kind of speaks for itself. Two major stadiums, with two more to come in the near future. Large Executive apartment buildings, freeway connections, high speed rail links and plenty of shopping, dining and retail. Highbury - A new skilled residential development wedged in between two mountains. Plenty of views if you like the hills, connected by bus to the subway in Golden Grove and the Olympic Zone. Highway One Economic Zone - Medium sized office buildings, hotels and accommodation and High Tech industry. Would people like to see an air traffic map of all the Alliance cities connected together (Domestic and International Airports?).

Enjoy a new video of one of the Alliance's major cities.

Hey Guys, sorry for the delay - have exams on at university at the moment and some 'real life' planning has been taking up all of my spare time. The above comment asking which map was used - Small Peninsula. Any how, I shall get around to completing a map of the Alliance after my exam this afternoon. The next city on the tour of the Alliance of Cities is Hamstead, a small British town known for it's extensive agriculture industry and exclusive, high end living. Located just 150 km north west of Manchester, this city is the epi-centre of the Eco-Agricultural industry. Although many farms have been razed to make way for new houses, the city now houses the corporate head office for the Alliance's largest Fertilizer company, StateFert. Co. Above this the remarkable night time view over the city, looking from the southern Economic Free Zone. The city contains many Executive neighbourhoods, with walking trails to keep the inhabitants fit and healthy, and encouraging people to stop using their cars for such conveniences as a bottle of milk or to take their kids to school. Above is one of just many walkways linking streets, shops and schools together. An example of the network of small trails and plazas connecting newer residential areas together in the city. We shall now pay a quick visit to the City Botanical Gardens, established in 1645 as a homage to the local legend said to be a chariot rider, Sir Henry Wildsmith. A view over the gardens, late evening. An aerial view. This park also forms part of the urban growth boundary established by the city hall in order to stop the spread of houses engulfing the valley. The boundary of development, as seen above. My next update, seeing as we have now been on a tour of all the cities, will be a map detailing economic and transportation links, together with screenshots of each cities corporate headquarters for their individual source of economic pride.

Okay, well I am simply beyond words. It is people like yourself who leave everyone in awe, looking at their own cities, thinking "ummmmm, duhhh what next?"

Thanks guys, for resizing the images, first time I have actually started posting on here. Thanks for all the positive feedback to date, also. Originally posted by: jazyje Wow !!! this is AMAZING!!!! Almost too much to take in at once... Can you post some shots of the underground highway network in Broxville?quote> Sure thing. Above, we have the Golden Valley Parkway, meandering through the spread of suburbia. Traditional garden suburb planning has been used, with a hierarchy of roads from small streets for houses, roads as collectors and small avenues as distributors. Houses seen from the Parkway Retail District. Car oriented, residents would find it difficult to walk or catch public transport to local shops. Naturally, this is government policy which supports the city's oil and mining industry. Above, you can see when this suburb was first built, with the noticeable absence of trees and vegetation. Large tracts of land were cleared in order to construct these new low density suburbs. Once again, the same area, but with full tree growth, at least thirty years after the suburb was built. Above is the Western exit to the Broxville Bypass, a major highway that travels beneath the entirety of the downtown core. Freight and cars can pass from one side of the city, to the other, avoiding 116 sets of traffic light and cutting travel time down almost thirty minutes. An overhead view of the Western exit to the bypass. Constrained by the narrow valley and the mountains, low density residential housing has spilled around the side of the valley and spread south, much to the anger of environmentalists and conservationists. Above, the Eastern start to the Broxville bypass can be seen. Cars and trucks can travel from the oil fields of the east to their homes in the west, without having to suffer the wrath of downtown congestion and poor inner city planning. Above, you can see the overhead view of the Western end of the Broxville bypass. Originally posted by: Damastius Good cities, are they really some kind of network regarding trade?quote> They sure are; but rather than each city being just a plain dumping ground for a resource of any kind, each city has blossomed into being a specialty centre for said resource (say, Dirty Industry - the city will become the centre of future clean innovation, or textile research, for example).