Growth and Immigration

Your city grows by itself when the conditions are right. You cannot force it, only prepare it well.

From district to house

1. Development: a new district first gets developed. That takes 2 min, less during the tutorial's learning phase.
2. Construction sites: then buildings appear one by one, at most 3 new ones per district and round. The city visibly grows piece by piece.
3. Build time: family homes stand after a few minutes, row houses and towers take much longer. A skyscraper in a dense district grows over hours, floor by floor.

Why people come

• Jobs: jobs in trade and industry attract people. The right houses grow out of this demand for work.
• Popularity: the better a district is rated, the more gladly people move in (District Value and Field Info).
• Arrivals without jobs: people come even without work, especially in the first days. They only live in trailers and shacks in the backlots though (Backlots and Backyards).

A city grows fast in its first days. Later it slows down, but good districts keep filling up.

No power, no growth

Tiles without power get a few trailers or containers at most. New houses also only appear if the power plant still has their full demand to spare. Otherwise the whole district would go dark when they finish (Power and Distribution).

Upgrades on their own

With high demand and a good location, the city replaces small houses with larger ones, visibly, with a construction phase. Buildings never change suddenly, and if a value drops, nothing shrinks.