SimCity 205: Industrial Planning

Mousing over the information button on the zoning HUD will give you the following tips on industrial zoning:

• Zone industrial to attract factories
• Factories provide jobs and make freight
• Factories ship freight to shops, trade depots, trade ports, and cargo terminals at airports
• If a factory can't ship enough freight, it will go abandoned

Industrial zoning is one of the easiest aspects of the game. Though handling pollution can become a problem if you don't take that into consideration while planning your city, all other aspects of industrial development are handled by the Sims.

Jobs

Your low-wealth residents will need places to work so they can live off the money they make and industrial zones fit the bill. Industrial zones will flourish when they have an adequate population of low-education, low-wealth residents. In return, they pump money into the local economy and that money generates happiness and, of course, tax revenue that you as mayor can use to expand and grow your city.

Freight

The movement of goods is, in and of itself, an industry that generates tax revenue. Installing airports, sea ports, trade depots, and other freight-movement ploppables will greatly increase the effectiveness of your industrial zones.

Abandonment and Crime

One of the key problems with industrial zones is that they are a magnet for crime. The dirt and low-wealth nature of these businesses -- not to mention that they are generally unoccupied at night -- makes them prime targets for thieves and arsonists. If an industrial factory goes under and the building sits abandoned, this is an even more tempting target for kids who like to play with matches. Stay vigilant when hunting for abandoned buildings so that your fire department doesn't have it's hands full.