City

Backlots and Backyards

Trailers, shacks, tent camps and food stalls: what grows in the backyards of your districts and what "too few roads" means.

Shack dweller

Houses stand with their front to the road. Whatever lies behind is backyard. In open districts these are green yards with hedges and swings, in dense districts paved courtyards, in industry works yards. Narrow alleys lead to the back between the houses, often covered in graffiti.

Gardens and hedges behind the family homes

Alley with graffiti — A narrow alley with graffiti between two buildings

The backlots

Empty space does not stay empty for long. Over time, a little life of its own appears in the backyards:

Piece	What it is
Trailer	housing for new arrivals
Shack	a simple tin shack, often with warm light
Tent camp	homeless people with a fire barrel, especially when unemployment is high
Backyard corner	containers, garbage bags, hedges, a swing
Food stall yard	food stands with tables and lanterns, brings a few jobs

Backlots need no power, have no build time and pay no taxes. Whoever lives there still counts as a resident.

Backyard with caravans — Caravans and tin huts fill a backyard

Tent camp with fire barrels between the houses

Caravans and food stall — Caravans and a food stall in the backlots

Food stalls side by side in an alley, crowded in the evening

Food court — A courtyard full of food stalls under strings of lights

Alley entrance — From the street you step into the alley with the stalls

How much and how fast

The first piece appears no earlier than 10 min after development, much faster in the tutorial.
With demand for housing the backlots may fill up to 60% of the free yard area, without demand up to 35%.
Each district has at most 8 tents.
Food stall yards are rare and only appear on cheap land.

When the district grows properly, new houses simply clear the backlots at the front.

Too few roads

If more than 25% of a district's tiles lie farther than 6 tiles from the nearest road, a yellow warning triangle appears above the district's center: "Too few roads". Run a road right through the district then.