Development and construction

You zone land and provide infrastructure. Private developers decide what to build on that land. The city's own service buildings, utilities and transport facilities are placed by you and paid for from the budget.

How the market chooses a project

A developer considers buildings that fit the plot, zone type and density. It compares expected rent with construction costs, operating costs and the price it can pay for land. A project also needs enough likely occupants, customers or workers to be viable.

Higher density is permission, not a promise. High-density zoning allows towers, but a small town may only have enough demand for smaller buildings. Expensive land can favour more floor space, but only where the resulting project can cover its costs.

See Zoning for building forms and plot sizes.

Why a plot remains empty

Check these conditions before adding more zoning:

City Hall has been placed and zoning is enabled.
The plot has eligible road frontage and a connection to the regional road network.
A supported footprint fits within connected land of the same zone type and density.
The zone has demand, and the city can supply the workers, customers or households the project needs.
Expected income can cover construction and land costs under the site's building limits.

The Development map layer and Economy → Business show what is holding a plot back.

Building height and neighbours

Setbacks from neighbouring walls, daylight and building-code limits affect a building's height and usable space.

Building code

Use Economy → Policy → Building Code to choose how tightly your city can build. The default, Anything goes, places few planning limits on height and building size. Where demand is strong, tall buildings can fill whole blocks, leaving closely packed neighbourhoods with less daylight and making them less attractive to residents.

Stricter rules keep more buildings lower, allow fewer sites to become towers, and require more space around buildings. Balanced and Strict also limit new building heights in heavily shaded areas, helping future neighbourhoods stay brighter and more open.

The tradeoff is less space for homes and jobs. Watch housing availability and rents as the city grows.

The rules apply to new construction and redevelopment; existing buildings keep their size. The policy summary shows the current limits.

Construction time

Buildings take time to construct; roads and parks are built instantly. Inspect a site to see its progress. Arcade discounts city construction prices, while construction time and private developers' costs stay the same.

City works placed while paused can be removed for a full refund before you unpause. Once work has progressed, cancelling an unfinished city site returns only the unbuilt share of what the city paid.

Vacancies and redevelopment

Completion creates space; it does not immediately fill every home or job. Households must afford and reach the building, while businesses must attract staff and trade. Check Residents and jobs and Transport if a finished building stays underused.

A long-empty home can become condemned, but it remains standing. It may be occupied again, bought back by the city or replaced by a viable redevelopment. Empty stock still matters to the housing market; it is not automatically cleared to make room for more construction.

Private redevelopment can replace an existing building when a new project is worth the acquisition and rebuilding costs. Rezoning to a higher density does not force immediate demolition or an instant upgrade.

Land and buybacks

Zoning is free, but developed plots become private property. Use a buyback when the city needs that land for another use; ordinary bulldozing does not make it free.

Quotes include the property value and a premium. Recent high values are retained, so removing nearby benefits does not immediately make acquisition cheaper. Cutting private property off from the regional network can also lead to compensation claims. Preserve access while planning a replacement road or acquiring land.

See Saves for keeping copies of your city.