WELCOME TO THE UNITED CITIES CITY JOURNAL BY NATHANTHEMAYOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In this city journal by Nathanthemayor, I will be showcasing the main region I play in Simcity 4. it is called the United Cities, after the USA but without America and with Cities.As of Janurary 27,2010 in real life, it has about 247,000 people. It currenlty has 19 incorparated cities, but two have not yet been zoned. The two biggest cities are Capital District and Boston, with Phoenix, Flaggstaff, and Lowell trailing close behind. All of my cities have a 0% tax and they are all ran by money trees and super demand ordiances.This CJ will mainly focus on Capital District and its suburbs, but I will post region updates every Wendsday. If you have a ? about the UC, just put it here in the CJ. Now, The five main laws of the Unitied Cities are:
1)Cities can be named whatever the mayor(That's me) decides.
2)Highway numbers can be named whatever number I decide.
3)Sims maynot move to unterriaformed land unless I say so.
4)Speed Limits can be decided by the cities
5)Tolls for drive-ups toll booths cannot exceed $1.50 and $2.00 for electronic tolls.
Explanation of the map below:
The United Cities covers about the size of Rhode Island in real life(I think). It has a good network of transportation systems, both within the cities and as well as outside the cities. The main one is the freeway systems, which connect most of the developed region to date. However, Capital District is known for it's excellent freeway system, as well, it has the region's only tollway, the Westpark Toll/Loop 20, which will be explored later in this CJ. As well, there is the commuter rail network, which connects Pheonix, Mesa, Flaggstaff, and Capital District, while it is forbidden on Boston Island(On the left).The commuter rail network is almost like the Alceda express in the NE USA and the Paris Rer.The long bridge connecting Plymouth with Pheonix is known as the Trans-River Bridge, which is about as long as the SFO-Oakland-Bay Bridge.Phoenix, Boston, and Capital Distrcit have bus systems that connect them and their suburbs, and Phoenix has a subway system, which is banned on Boston Island. Downtown Boston is very famous for its double highway system, which is basically two highways next to each other(You can sorta see it in the map).As well, ferry is prohibited in any part of the region.In the center is Phoenix Island, which is full of mountains. Because of the steep grades and the number of accidents that have occured here, Law requires that speed limits be lowered by 35% on any type of road or rail. Large map cities usually have 4 or more towns and cities in it(E.g: Capital District contains Capital District, Fosterville, Forestry, Allinway, and Townshed. Frieght rails lines must share the tracks with commuter rail trains, and also the UC frieght rail line(UCFRL) has a couple of yards on Phoenix Island:the largest being the 16 track yard in Winslow(Not shown in this picture). The names of all the islands are: Boston, Pheonix, Memorial, Capital, Westport, Hollister, and Mountain.

How the UC was formed:
After Earth became uninhabitable due to a giant meteor strike in the year 2050, a group of about 700 people fled in a spaceship to Mars to start a new civilization. They arrived on Mars and saw the way it had been for billions of years-barren, low oxygen, and dust storms. However, they had brought materials to terrianiform the planet, and it started the very day they arrived. Over hundreds of years, the planet was warmed, water and trees were added, factories spewed out greenhouse gases to keep it warm, and by the year 2740, the people, now numbering 250000 in what would become the city of Boston, they could go out freely without special gear on. By now, they had produced many of the technologys that exist on Earth in modern times, and they began to build freeways, subways, and skyscrapers. On the date of May 29, 2747, the Republic of Mars, which was based after the US government, was created with the capital in Boston, which was the westmost of a series of islands in the middle of an ocean. The first president promised to protect the peoples rights and liberties. However, that president was overthrown by a mean dictator who punished and killed his oppenets for a terrible 4 years, decreasing the population from 310000 to 200000 in the entire region, which at the time, only had Boston, Braintree, Lexington,Plymouth, and the partally completed Phoenix. Eventally,in an event that rivals the storming of the Bastille, he died of a massive revolt that destroyed much of Boston, and a new president(That's me) took his place. This one had to accept a document that explaned all the bad things the previous one had done to the people, and that he would be removed if he did those things. Eventally, after many political reforms, the capital was moved to Phoenix and a new governmental system was created on September 28,2752, just like the first one, and the new civilization was called the United Cities. From there it started to expand, and the idea for a new capital city emerged. Eventally, a new Capital City was built in the south, and it moved there and still exists there today. The supporters of the mean dictator, mad with the UC's policy's, moved back to the mainland and started the Republic Of Timbucktu, just after the new president took office, which exists today. Unfortuneality, a Timbucktuian submarine sunk the crusie liner Liberation on Feburary 19,2753: out of the 4213 on board, only 385 survived. Some of the dead included the vice president and two cabinet members As well, Timbucktu's government violated the UC'S trade rights and even sent spys to take UC citizens prisionor and forced them to work in factories. Eventally, the UC declared war with a 100% yes vote, and the destroyed the Capital of Timbucktu. After the two sides signed a treaty on June 29,2753, the war ended. However, the new challange for the UC is to keep up with the growing population, and in order to do that, the goverenment must chart out new islands before new ones are filled up.