Strategies To Reduce Air Pollution In Cities Skylines

In the city-building game Cities: Skylines, air pollution is a serious issue that can have detrimental effects on your citizens' health and happiness. It is caused by a variety of factors, including industry, traffic, garbage management, and specific power plants. To reduce air pollution, players must employ strategic planning and consider various factors. One crucial factor is wind direction, as air pollution spreads downwind from its source. Therefore, it is essential to place industrial zones and polluting buildings downwind and away from residential areas. Additionally, implementing renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar power plants, can help reduce air pollution. Managing traffic flow and encouraging the use of public transportation can also reduce vehicle emissions. While trees can help, they are not a cure-all solution, and a combination of strategies is needed to effectively control air pollution.

Use renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar power plants

Reducing Air Pollution in Cities: Skylines by Using Renewable Energy Sources

One of the most effective ways to reduce air pollution in Cities: Skylines is to transition to renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar power plants. These sources produce minimal air pollution compared to traditional power plants, and are a great long-term strategy for improving air quality and the health of your citizens.

Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are a great option for renewable energy in Cities: Skylines, as they are available right from the start of the game. They produce green energy, which does not cause air pollution. When placing wind turbines, consider the wind direction and speed in your city, as these factors will impact the efficiency of the turbines. Try to place them in areas with high wind speeds to maximise their output. Additionally, place them away from residential areas to avoid noise complaints from your citizens.

Solar Power Plants

Solar power plants are another excellent source of renewable energy. They harness the power of the sun to generate electricity without producing air pollution. Place solar power plants in areas that receive ample sunlight to ensure they are operating at maximum efficiency. Like wind turbines, solar power plants are costly to build and maintain, so ensure your budget can accommodate them before implementing.

Strategies for Success

When transitioning to renewable energy sources, there are a few key strategies to keep in mind. Firstly, balance your industrial and residential zones carefully. Place industrial zones downwind of residential zones to prevent air pollution from spreading to where your citizens live. Additionally, as your city grows, assign more commercial and office zones instead of industrial zones, as these generate less pollution.

While renewable energy sources are crucial for reducing air pollution, they are just one part of a comprehensive strategy. Manage your traffic flow to reduce emissions from vehicles, and consider implementing public transportation to encourage fewer people to drive. Finally, remember that renewable energy facilities are costly, so only implement them when your budget allows.

Prioritise good traffic flow and public transport to reduce vehicle emissions

Traffic is the flow of vehicles along roads in Cities: Skylines. It is important to manage the flow of traffic in your city as blocked roads cause delays in services reaching certain areas and increase noise pollution.

To reduce vehicle emissions, it is crucial to prioritise good traffic flow and promote public transport. Here are some strategies to achieve this:

Expand Public Transport Options

As your city grows, it is essential to expand its public transport system. Adding bus routes, metro lines, and train lines can significantly reduce the number of cars and trucks on the road. When planning, consider laying out train or metro lines across open land areas first, and then building your city up around the rail lines. This way, you can add stations where they are needed without having to bulldoze existing structures.

Underground train and metro lines are also an excellent option for extending rail routes across developed areas. You can create tunnels by pressing the Pg Dn key when placing the train lines.

Implement Free Public Transportation Policy

Making public transportation free will naturally make it a more attractive option for your citizens. This can be done by selecting the Free Public Transportation Policy, which covers bus, tram, monorail, metro, and local train transport. However, keep in mind that this policy will make public transport unprofitable, so ensure that your city can afford to bear the cost.

Encourage Active Transportation

Promoting active transportation methods such as walking and cycling can help reduce vehicle emissions. Add pedestrian pathways to provide walking route alternatives to roads. These pathways can connect roads that are not directly linked, giving citizens the option to walk between destinations instead of driving.

Additionally, consider investing in the After Dark DLC expansion, which allows you to place bike lanes. Providing cycling routes can effectively reduce the number of vehicles on the road, especially when combined with the Encourage Biking policy.

Optimise Traffic Flow

To improve traffic flow and reduce congestion, it is important to space out intersections and expand the spacing between them. Intersections with traffic lights are major contributors to traffic congestion. By spacing them out, you can minimise the number of stopping points and improve the overall flow of traffic.

Building logical roundabouts is another effective strategy. Roundabouts enhance traffic flow by allowing vehicles to move continuously without the need for traffic signals. Just be mindful of the zones connected to the roundabout exits to avoid creating additional traffic and noise pollution from trucks.

Ban Heavy Traffic

Implementing policies such as the Heavy Traffic Ban can help reduce the presence of large cargo trucks on designated roads, especially in residential areas with smaller roads. This policy can be applied to specific districts within your city.

Place industrial zones downwind and away from residential areas

To reduce air pollution in Cities: Skylines, it is important to place industrial zones away from residential areas. This is because air pollution is caused by industrial zones and dirty buildings such as coal power plants and garbage incineration plants.

When placing industrial zones, it is crucial to consider the wind direction. By placing industrial zones downwind from residential areas, you can prevent air pollution from blowing towards your citizens' homes. To check the wind direction, open the Air Pollution Info View, where you will see small arrows indicating the direction in which the wind is blowing.

Additionally, try to place industrial zones near the border of the map. This will help isolate the pollution to the outskirts of your city, reducing the impact on your citizens.

It is also important to note that air pollution cannot be managed by building additional structures. Therefore, planning your city wisely and considering the placement of industrial zones is crucial to avoiding unnecessary costs and health hazards.

Assign more commercial and office zones instead of industrial zones

Once your city has grown significantly, you can assign more commercial and office zones instead of industrial zones. Commercial zones will have shops and other services selling the goods produced in the industrial zones and/or imported. Commercial zones can be specialised into Leisure, Tourism and Organic and Local Produce. Leisure zones are aimed at both visitors and residents. Organic and Local Produce zones produce 50% of sold goods locally, reducing truck traffic in the area. They also have reduced garbage production.

Office zones provide pollution-free jobs for citizens of higher education levels, but they don't produce any goods. Offices count as industry. The IT Cluster specialisation produces "goods" of a sort that are sold to commercial zones, however, these goods are not physical (i.e. they don't need trucks).

In terms of the supply chain, industry and commerce produce and sell goods respectively, while residents are employees and consumers for this process. Office zones do not directly contribute to the supply chain, however, they provide pollution-free and traffic-light employment for citizens who can then spend their wages in the city's commercial zones.

While it is possible to forgo industrial zones altogether, it comes at the cost of having to import all material and immaterial goods.

Plant trees between industrial and residential zones

Trees are a great way to combat pollution in Cities: Skylines. They can reduce and remove ground pollution, and they can also improve the look of your city. While trees do not directly reduce air pollution, they can act as a barrier between industrial and residential zones, helping to keep pollutants away from citizens.

To effectively use trees to reduce air pollution, it is important to understand how air pollution works in the game. Air pollution is caused by industrial zones, dirty buildings such as coal power plants, and traffic. It spreads in the direction of the wind, so it is crucial to check the wind direction before placing your industrial areas. Try to place them downwind and away from residential zones to minimise the impact on your citizens' health and happiness.

Once you have determined the wind direction and placed your industrial zones accordingly, you can start planting trees. Use the tree brush mod or the Move It! mod to efficiently plant multiple trees at once. Create a band of trees between your industrial and residential zones, acting as a buffer to catch the pollutants before they reach the residential areas. Make sure to plant enough trees, as a high density of trees will be more effective in reducing air pollution.

In addition to planting trees, you can also implement other strategies to reduce air pollution. These include improving traffic flow, banning heavy traffic and combustion engines from residential areas, and choosing renewable energy sources such as wind turbines instead of coal and gas power plants.

By combining strategic placement of industrial zones, planting bands of trees as buffers, and adopting other pollution-reducing measures, you can effectively reduce air pollution in your city and create a healthier and happier environment for your citizens.

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