Bronte Wells
In the city-building game Cities: Skylines, pollution is an inevitable consequence of industrial areas and power plants. While it is impossible to completely eliminate pollution without using mods or DLC buildings, there are strategies to minimise and manage it. One approach is to separate industrial areas from residential zones, placing them at a distance to prevent pollution from spreading to where citizens live. Additionally, utilising renewable and clean energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar power, can help reduce pollution from industrial areas. Upgrading industrial buildings is also beneficial, as higher-level buildings tend to produce less pollution. Proper management of sewage and water treatment is crucial, as waste water should be directed downstream, and water pumping stations should be placed upstream, away from pollutants. While ground pollution takes time to disappear, players can expedite the process by removing the sources of pollution and planting trees in affected areas.
How to clear up factory pollution in Cities: Skylines
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Placement of polluting services | Ensure polluting services are not placed near residential areas. |
| Use of renewable energy sources | Switch to renewable energy sources such as recycling centres, wind turbines, solar power plants, and nuclear power plants. |
| Electric buses and district policies | Implement electric buses and district policies such as combustion engine bans, heavy traffic bans, and speed bumps. |
| Wind direction | Use the Air Pollution Info View to determine wind direction and prevent pollution from spreading to residential areas. |
| Water and sewage management | Properly locate water and sewage pumps, with sewage pumps downstream and consider installing a Wastewater Treatment Plant. |
| Industrial Waste Processing Facility | Construct an Industrial Waste Processing Facility to reduce ground pollution in industrial areas. |
| Upgraded industry buildings | Allow regular industrial buildings to upgrade as they tend to produce less pollution than level one versions. |
| Noise pollution reduction | Use road decorations, highway sound barriers, and narrow roads in residential neighbourhoods to reduce noise pollution. |
| Tree planting | Plant trees to help clear up ground pollution, though effectiveness may vary. |
| Pollution-reducing mods | Use mods such as the Pollution Remover mod to disable pollution or the Eden Project monument to prevent pollution spread. |
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What You'll Learn
Use renewable energy sources
While it is impossible to achieve a city with zero pollution in Cities: Skylines, players can significantly reduce air and ground pollution by adopting renewable energy sources.
One effective strategy is to transition to wind energy by constructing wind turbines. Wind turbines are highly scalable, as players can simply add more turbines to increase energy production. They are also efficient, aesthetically pleasing, and resilient. However, it is important to note that wind turbines produce more power when placed in windy areas, so players should consider the wind direction and intensity when selecting locations for their wind turbines.
Solar power plants are another viable option for renewable energy. Solar energy is clean and pollution-free, but its output varies with the intensity of daytime sunlight and weather conditions. Solar power plants may produce less energy on cloudy days or at night, when output drops to 70% of the daytime value.
Geothermal power plants, ocean thermal energy conversion plants, and solar updraft towers are additional renewable energy sources that players can utilise to achieve the "Green Energy" achievement in the game.
While renewable energy sources offer minimal air pollution, they often come with high upfront costs and substantial upkeep fees. Therefore, players should carefully consider their budget before implementing these environmentally friendly options.
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Zone industrial areas away from residential areas
One of the most important strategies to reduce factory pollution in Cities: Skylines is to zone industrial areas away from residential areas. Here are some detailed instructions and considerations for implementing this approach:
Firstly, it is recommended to maintain a significant distance between industrial and residential zones. Some players suggest a separation of at least 10 tiles, as mentioned by a player in the Cities: Skylines subreddit. This distance can help dissipate pollution before it reaches residential areas, improving the health and well-being of your citizens.
When zoning your industrial areas, consider placing them downwind of your city, taking into account the wind direction shown in the Air Pollution Info View. By doing so, you can minimise the impact of air pollution on your city as the wind will carry pollutants away from populated areas.
It is also beneficial to separate industrial and residential zones using natural barriers or landmarks such as water, highways, or train tracks. These barriers can act as buffers, helping to contain pollution within the industrial areas and preventing it from spreading to nearby residential zones.
While keeping industrial areas away from residential zones, you can still place small industrial buildings within residential areas sparingly. These standalone buildings produce less noticeable pollution, as shared by a player in the Cities: Skylines subreddit. Just ensure that they are not clustered too closely together to avoid concentrated pollution.
Additionally, you can draw districts around your industrial zones and specialise them in farming or forestry. This strategy, suggested by a player, can help reduce pollution output and provide a more realistic transition to residential areas.
By following these guidelines, you can effectively reduce the impact of factory pollution on your city's residential areas, creating a healthier and more pleasant environment for your citizens in Cities: Skylines.
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Use the Pollution Remover mod
While there are some strategies to reduce pollution in Cities: Skylines, such as using renewable energy sources, implementing district policies, and careful placement of polluting services, there is no quick solution to removing ground pollution. However, you can use mods to address this issue.
One such mod is the Pollution Remover mod, which allows you to disable all kinds of pollution, including ground, water, and noise pollution. This mod is available on the Steam Workshop and can be toggled while your city is running. You can access the mod settings in the “Settings” menu or by pressing the escape key while playing.
It's important to note that there may be alternative mods that serve the same purpose, and you may need to experiment to find the one that works best for you. Additionally, some mods may interfere with each other, so if you encounter any issues, try disabling other mods to see if that resolves the problem.
Using mods is a creative way to enhance your gameplay experience and address challenges that cannot be easily solved within the standard game mechanics. Remember to follow the instructions provided by the mod creator and keep an eye out for updates or changes that may impact the mod's functionality.
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Use the Eden Project monument
The Eden Project is a monument in Cities: Skylines that can help reduce pollution in your city. To build the Eden Project, you must first reach the Megalopolis milestone, which typically occurs when your city's population is between 20,000 and 90,000 citizens. Additionally, you need to unlock all 9 map tiles and construct six unique buildings: the Business Park, the Cathedral of Plenitude, the Friendly Neighbourhood Park, the Official Park, the Servicing Services Offices, and the Statue of Industry.
The Business Park may be one of the most challenging requirements, as it requires 20,000 squares of commercial buildings. It's important to note that simply zoning 20,000 squares for commercial use is not enough; you need functioning buildings occupying those squares. To achieve this, consider focusing on low-density commercial zones or applying mods to maximise zone demands.
The Cathedral of Plenitude will become available once you have constructed 30 different types of city service buildings. For example, a city with 3 elementary schools, 2 high schools, and 1 university has three types of educational service buildings.
Once you have met all the requirements and constructed the necessary unique buildings, you can build the Eden Project from the Monuments tab for a cost of ₡850,000, with an additional maintenance cost of ₡6,400.
The Eden Project will not only reduce pollution across your city but also increase land values. It is described as a huge glass house, perfect for vast gardens and exotic plants. While it may not eliminate all pollution, it will slowly purify the land, air, and water, and buildings will no longer contribute to pollution. However, be cautious when placing the Eden Project in a tourist city, as it may lead to a temporary drop in tourists due to the increased land value.
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Re-zone industrial areas to office buildings
One way to reduce factory pollution in Cities: Skylines is to rezone industrial areas to office buildings. Offices are considered a type of high-density industrial zone, but they differ significantly from traditional industrial zones in that they do not process raw materials. This distinction is reflected in the game's colour-coding system, where office zones are cyan, while regular industrial zones are dark yellow.
By transitioning industrial areas into office zones, players can reduce pollution levels in their cities. Offices produce less pollution than industrial buildings, such as factories, power plants, and incinerators, which are major sources of pollution in the game. While offices still require "industrial products", these can be imported from other cities, keeping the pollution elsewhere. Additionally, offices have similar zoning preferences to residences, as they both favour low noise pollution and high land values. This means that players can mix office and residential zones without creating adverse effects for either zone type.
To effectively rezone industrial areas into office buildings, players should pay attention to the unique characteristics of office zones. Unlike industrial zones, office zones cannot be specialised to extract raw materials like trees, oil, or ore. Instead, office zones can only be specialised if players purchase the appropriate expansions. Furthermore, office zones do not process raw materials, so they can be placed anywhere on the map without being restricted by resource availability.
It is worth noting that transitioning to office zones comes with the trade-off of increased dependency on imported goods. Since office zones do not produce industrial goods, each commercial zone will need to import its goods from off-map, which can impact the city's economy and trade balance. Players should carefully consider this aspect when deciding whether to rezone industrial areas into office buildings.
While rezoning industrial areas to office buildings can help reduce pollution, it is not the only strategy available to players. Other methods to mitigate pollution include using renewable energy sources, such as recycling centres, wind turbines, solar power plants, and nuclear power plants. Implementing district policies, such as combustion engine bans, heavy traffic bans, and speed bumps, can also help reduce air and noise pollution. Ultimately, players may need to employ a combination of these strategies to effectively manage pollution in their cities.
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Frequently asked questions
Air pollution is caused by industry, traffic, garbage management, and specific power plants. To reduce air pollution, separate your industrial areas from your residential areas, use renewable energy sources (e.g. wind turbines, solar power plants), and implement district policies such as combustion engine bans and heavy traffic bans.
Ground pollution is caused by industrial areas and power plants. To reduce ground pollution, build industrial areas and factories away from residential areas, use renewable energy sources, and construct an Industrial Waste Processing Facility. While ground pollution disappears over time if the source is removed, it can be sped up by planting trees.
Water pollution is caused by sewage mixing with water pumps. To prevent this, place water pumps upstream and sewage pumps downstream. If this is not possible, install a Wastewater Treatment Plant to treat the sewage.
Noise pollution is caused by commercial and industrial zones. To reduce noise pollution, use road decorations and highway sound barriers, stick to narrow roads in neighbourhoods, and avoid building residential zones along central routes.
Unfortunately, there are no quick solutions to removing pollution without using DLC buildings or special mods. While it is impossible to completely avoid pollution, it can be kept to a minimum by implementing the strategies mentioned above.
