Pollution occurs when our quest for more money comes at the expense of common sense. Having people live two blocks downwind of a coal burning power plant is going to cause problems for everyone involved. But the positioning of those two entities may make some kind of financial sense that can cloud your judgement in the moment and cost you in the long run.
So combating pollution is about two things: planning ahead to anticipate future problems and ignoring shortcuts in time or money that might tempt you into abandoning your well laid plans.
Types of Pollution
There are several types of pollution -- some of which you may never have considered. They are as follows:
- Water Pollution
- Air Pollution
- Ground Pollution
- Value Pollution
- Time Pollution
Preventing Water Pollution
Once water is contaminated, only a water filter can clean it. So the object is to prevent water pollution in the first place. From the very first road you place, you should have a view of the water table and anticipate how industrial zones, sewage outlet pipes, and power plants will contribute to contamination and how far that contamination will spread. Then, build accordingly.
Clearing Air Pollution
The air we breathe is essential for life in the same way as water and food. The number one source of air pollution in your city starts out as factories but will promptly be dwarfed by the smog pouring out of the back of people's cars. Your best defense against poor air quality is a mass transit system that is easy, convenient, and planned around stops at key strategic areas.
Stamping Out Ground Pollution
Industrial zones and garbage dumps are the two chief causes of ground pollution. Theoretically, you can burn your garbage and pull in recycling to solve that problem after the fact, so don't worry about that one. Instead, focus on industrial zones as they will be laid out at the start of your game. Spread out your industrial zones as much as you can. Sprinkle them around the board and place other zones like low-wealth residential and parks in between to break up the smog.
Understanding Value Pollution
When you plop down a park and upgrade a neighborhood to mansions, that's an almost immediate example of positive land value. But it's still value pollution because now there is less space for poor people to live. By definition, pollution is an exchange of something you want for a side effect you probably didn't see and certainly don't want. A factory produces crates of goods that will someday become money but belches smoke that will someday kill the workers, neighbors, and probably the guy who owns the joint.
Value pollution occurs anytime you don't consider the downside of increasing the value of something. For instance, cramming your downtown with rich and famous people will dramatically increase traffic and drown your streets in gridlock. Why? Because rich people don't take buses or street cars. And they certainly don't walk places. That just leaves cars. Adding parks to your downtown area will increase traffic.
Preventing this is about designing a city in pockets. As early in the game as you can, identify where you want your rich folks, where you want your poor folks. Keep the rich near the highway to limit their smog and keep them out of the downtown area -- which should be all middle-class. For the poor people, make sure there are bus stations nearby and that you don't put any bus stops in rich neighborhoods as this will be a waste of time, gas, and planning.
Combating Time Pollution
Time stuck in traffic. Time waiting for a bus. Time looking for a medical building to cure a sliced forehead. Everyday -- at every fraction of every second -- your citizens spend their time doing one of two things: either spending their time richly or spending their time poorly.
As mayor, you contribute to time expenditure in ways you may have not considered. Every traffic light is time that could be better spent doing something else. So limit your intersections by having long streets. Cramming industrial zones in to a corner downwind of people's homes is perfect planning -- unless there's no direct road laid to get to that corner. Then you have people snaking their way through your city to get to work. Every day.
The question you should always be asking is: how can I help my citizens do what they do -- only faster. Then, build roads, bus stations, rezone, and re-plop as necessary.
No comments:
Post a Comment