Sim City Strategies: Reducing Pollution, Improving City Life

In SimCity, pollution is an inevitable byproduct of certain buildings and industries. It comes in several forms, including air, water, and ground pollution, each with negative side effects on the health and happiness of Sims and the environment. While it is impossible to completely eliminate pollution, there are strategies to reduce and manage it. Here are some ways to tackle each type of pollution:

Air Pollution:

- Confine polluting industries to a specific location, such as a corner of the map or behind mountain ranges, to prevent the spread.

- Plant trees and create parks, as they help absorb air pollution.

- Improve traffic flow and reduce congestion to minimise traffic pollution.

- Implement city ordinances like the Clean Air Act.

- Prioritise education and invest in cleaner, high-tech industries.

Water Pollution:

- Build water treatment plants to process polluted water and prevent it from affecting water pumps and towers.

- Ensure water infrastructure is not located near sources of water pollution.

Ground Pollution:

- Improve sewage management by building sewage treatment plants instead of outflow pipes.

- Send sewage to neighbouring cities with efficient treatment facilities.

- Plant trees and build parks to accelerate the recovery of polluted land.

Use parks and trees to reduce air pollution

Parks and trees can be effective ways to limit air pollution in SimCity. In the game, air pollution is caused by dirty and manufacturing industries, power plants, airports, and traffic. As the pollution is localised within the city borders, placing polluting industries and structures at a corner is an effective strategy to reduce pollution.

Trees can help to remove air pollution, and they can be manually planted by players or added in God Mode. They work by reducing air temperature, which in turn reduces pollution concentrations. They also reduce energy consumption in buildings, which reduces air pollutant emissions from power sources. Additionally, trees directly remove pollutants from the air by absorbing gaseous molecules through tiny pores on their leaves. This process permanently converts pollutants like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone.

Trees are also effective at removing particulate matter (PM) by 'catching' them temporarily. Fine particulate matter is deposited on tree surfaces, clinging to leaves and stems instead of floating in the air. Most of these particles will remain on the surfaces until rain or precipitation washes them away.

The effectiveness of trees in reducing air pollution depends on the species and its characteristics. Conifers, for example, are good natural purifiers because their dense canopy of needle-like leaves is very effective at trapping pollutants. They are also evergreen, so they act as year-round filters. However, conifers can be sensitive to salt levels in soils and may block sunlight from melting snow and ice, leading to road traffic problems.

When deciding which trees to plant, it is important to consider the local context, wind direction, and landscape structure. In narrow streets surrounded by tall buildings, tall trees with big canopies might prevent pollution from dispersing. In such cases, hedges or green walls are generally preferred. On broad roads with low-rise buildings, both trees and hedges are viable options.

In addition to trees, parks can also help to reduce air pollution in SimCity. They provide open spaces that can confine pollution to a specific location and prevent it from spreading.

Use a water treatment plant to combat water pollution

Water pollution in SimCity is caused by all types of industry except for high-tech, as well as power plants and seaports. It can have several negative effects, such as reducing the working capacity of pumps and leading to complaints from Sims if left unchecked.

The only way to combat water pollution in the game is to build a water treatment plant. This is a ploppable building in SimCity 4 with a maximum capacity of 60,000 gallons of polluted water to process. While water treatment plants are effective, their high cost and low capacity make them unadvisable except in very rare cases.

There are several strategies to reduce water pollution in SimCity. Firstly, it is important to build water towers and pumps away from sources of water pollution. Additionally, you can bypass the need for sewage outlet pipes, which contribute to ground pollution, by building a sewage treatment plant. This is quite expensive but necessary for the late game.

Another strategy to reduce water pollution is to move to alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, or nuclear power for your region's energy needs, as these sources produce less pollution overall. Educating Sims and increasing land values of industrial lots will also encourage the development of Level 3 industrial buildings, which produce less pollution.

Reduce traffic to lower air and noise pollution

Traffic is a significant source of air and noise pollution in cities. Here are some strategies to reduce traffic and subsequently lower air and noise pollution:

Reduce the Number of Cars on Roads

Electric vehicles, such as electric buses, have been shown to reduce traffic noise and air pollution. Local authorities can prioritize the electrification of bus routes to maximize health benefits. With a fully electrified bus fleet, around 60% of the population can benefit from a noise reduction of 1 decibel in the street environment.

Implement Traffic Management Strategies

Routing traffic through commercial areas can help, as commercial areas are positively affected by high traffic. Additionally, areas with congestion, dense intersections, and a high number of buses in the traffic mix contribute to greater noise pollution and should be addressed.

Use Sound-Diffracting Walls and Soundproof Barriers

Acoustic walls and rubberized roads can help tackle noise pollution from traffic. Sound-diffracting walls, such as those developed by 4Silence BV, use grooves of varying depths to reduce horizontal noise by bending it upwards in the vertical direction. These walls are more effective than traditional concrete walls and are easier to install and maintain.

Plant Trees and Shrubs

Trees and shrubs can help isolate an area from noise pollution. They absorb and reduce noise levels, creating a more peaceful environment.

Implement Permanent Soundproofing Solutions for Buildings

For buildings near busy roads, consider installing soundproof windows and solid doors to significantly reduce the amount of sound entering from the street. Filling any cracks or gaps in walls with acoustic sealant will also help block out noise.

Use a sewage treatment plant to reduce ground pollution

In SimCity, pollution is a byproduct of certain buildings and structures. It has several negative side effects, including reduced life expectancy, a lower Mayor Rating, and lower desirability, which can lead to abandonment. Therefore, it is generally advisable to avoid pollution in your city.

One way to reduce ground pollution is to use a sewage treatment plant. While a basic sewage outflow pipe simply pumps raw sewage out of the pipe system and dumps it, a sewage treatment plant can handle more sewage and is designed to absorb and clean the sewage to an extent before sending it on. This effectively reduces ground pollution, although it doesn't eliminate it from ground that is already polluted.

The sewage treatment plant also has its own ground pollution footprint if it takes on more sewage than it can handle. To avoid this, it should be built away from residential and commercial zones to maintain high land values. Additionally, the plant replenishes the surrounding water table, providing unlimited water when used with a Water Pumping Station and filtration pumps.

To operate a sewage treatment plant, you will need 140 low-wealth, 20 medium-wealth, and 12 high-wealth workers. The Deluxe Sewage Treatment Plant is available from level 8 and costs 35,000 Simoleons. It is a good option for treating sewage and reducing ground pollution, but it is a little pricey.

Overall, by using a sewage treatment plant, you can significantly reduce ground pollution and provide your city with a sustainable water source.

Use a ground scrubber to remove ground pollution

In SimCity, pollution is a byproduct of certain buildings and industries. There are two main types of pollution: air pollution and water pollution. Air pollution is caused by dirty and manufacturing industries, certain power plants, traffic, and airports. Water pollution is caused by all types of industry (except for high-tech) and seaports.

To reduce pollution in SimCity, you can employ various strategies. One strategy is to use a ground scrubber to remove ground pollution. While trees can also work to remove ground pollution, they take time and will eventually die and need to be replaced. The Cities of Tomorrow expansion for SimCity 2013 introduces a new building called a ground scrubber, which functions similarly to a tree but is more expensive and removes ground pollution faster.

Ground scrubbers are an effective technology for removing harmful pollutants and odors from exhaust streams. They are pollution filtration systems that use water or other liquids to remove gas pollutants and odors. Wet scrubbers, in particular, move contaminated gas through a liquid designed to remove pollutants. Water is the most common solvent used to remove inorganic contaminants. In a basic wet scrubber, contaminated gas is moved through water, which absorbs the contaminants before clean gas exits the scrubber.

Wet scrubbers can also remove particulate matter by capturing them in liquid droplets. The droplets are then collected, and the liquid dissolves or absorbs the pollutant gases. Any droplets in the scrubber inlet gas must be separated from the outlet gas stream using a mist eliminator. Additionally, the resultant scrubbing liquid must be treated before discharge or reuse.

Wet scrubbers offer several advantages, including the ability to remove both particulate matter and gases, relatively low pressure drop, high mass-transfer efficiencies, and small space requirements. They are also versatile and cost-effective, making them a popular choice for pollution control.

Frequently asked questions