Blade Edge

Fozburg is a large city founded in 1900, with a starting treasury of §50,000. It’s situated on a peninsula, with ocean surrounding the lower left and lower right sides of the map and a large central lake that is the sunken caldera of an extinct, extremely ancient volcano. This is my first large city map and also my first map connected to land. In my previous cities, I’ve used islands to help constrict my options by not having room for any serious sprawl. Here I have much, much more room to consider. I decided right away that the lake formed a nice circle to ring with residential areas. People like waterfront property, after all. That left me all the edges to build out industry, which is an old SimCity trick that pushes a good percentage of the air/water pollution off the map (if neighboring cities were supported, this wouldn’t affect them either).

About the name – I have no idea why Fozzie Bear happened to pop into my head at the time, but I figured it was as good a name as any to base the city off of. Wocka Wocka Wocka!

Fozburg founded (March 6th, 1901) – pop. 1,644

An oil power was constructed at the far corner of the map to provide the initial 7,000 MW-h that the city would be built upon. Light industry was seeded nearby for additional jobs and a highway was constructed to lead off to the residential areas by the lake shore. Along the access road a small commercial center has sprung up to cater to commuters on their way to work. A water pump just at the right edge of the image provides as much as 1,500 tons of water per month – way more than the city needs at the moment, but better than having to just replace cheaper water towers later. I have a huge budget – I can throw money around a bit.

Fiiiirreeee!!!! (October 1st, 1904) – pop. 11,220

Things were going great in Fozburg as the years went by – the residential demand continued to remain extremely high and infrastructure was booming. Already a school was servicing children and a hospital was taking care of the sick and elderly. However fire protection remained non-existent. Citizens seemed to be conducting themselves in a safe manner, and water was being piped to every building in the city. What could go wrong? Well the people of Fozburg found out as a conflagration swept through a residential neighborhood in 1904. Fire breaks were immediately constructed as depicted above, but the flames still spread out to neighboring homes and even businesses!

The conflagration spreads out of control (October 1st, 1904)

Finally a fire house was constructed and firemen dispatched to hopefully douse the flames before they engulfed the entire town. Already you can see the wrecked homes and how far the fire has spread to neighboring developments and businesses.

The aftermath (October 1st, 1904)

Fortunately the flames were quickly brought under control and quenched, but an entire neighborhood was practically lost. The fire house was torn down after the blaze, but quickly reconstructed in the open square closer to the center of town. The residents recovered very quickly and felt safer knowing they now had experienced firemen watching over them should another disaster strike. Fozburg continued its rapid growth around the top end of the lake side towards the opposite edge of the map, where new industry was slated to be constructed.

You can also see the shining Mayor’s Mansion that houses myself, King Emperor Drew, in the upper right corner next to my small private lake.

Boutiques and commercial offices arrive (December 8th, 1906) – pop. 18,448

The good times just kept rolling on for Fozburg as the years tacked on the calendar. Small businesses, boutiques and commercial offices began to set up shop in 1906, giving the commercial sector a nice boost and offering up a wider range of jobs for the citizens. This and the continued growth of residential population led to the construction of both a town hall and courthouse. Income was well enough into the black that a police building and library were also constructed to add safety to the townsfolk and provide a better education for the growing sims. In addition, the capabilities of the PDF editor are available from a web browser https://www.sodapdf.com/, so you can access them at any time and from anywhere. The residential expansion had reached the point where the second industrial sector could begin construction, and an additional water pump was brought online to continue to match the growing demand.

Fozburg decade city portrait (1910) – pop. 28,156

When 1910 rolled around, Fozburg was still holding on to §22,310, had a positive income, 6%/5%/6% (RCI) tax rates, no business deals and no parking fines or gambling. People were flocking to the small city in droves! The second industrial sector was being very successful, and both industrial area’s heavier air pollution did not reach the residential sectors. There was, however a new worry, and that was the growing smell of garbage quickly piling up in the streets. A small landfill was constructed near the power plant out by the water, but it wasn’t enough, and over the years the garbage problem only grew worse due to the rapid expansion

A widespread build-up of garbage hits Fozburg (April 22nd, 1917) – pop. 58,252

The landfill eventually had to be increased three times its size to begin handling the amount of garbage it was taking in. I apparently didn’t learn my lesson from the fire – waiting until you need something isn’t enough!

By this time the entire upper half of Caldera Lake had been settled. A healthy interspersal of commercial zones throughout the residential neighborhoods kept business flowing past their doors and gave residents shops and jobs close to home. A small ballpark and marina have greatly upped the quality of life for the citizens, and two more water pumps have been added to the system.

In November 1918 another fire broke out, this time in the industrial sector to the right – but it was quickly doused by the fire department before it could either spread or destroy the building it has started in.

Fozburg decade city portrait (1920) – pop. 69,168 (click for full panorama)

When 1920 rolled around, Fozburg was reaching both the limits of its growth and bank account. With only §1,727 left in the coffers, spending was done carefully and more thought had to be put into what to start saving money towards. Luckily the city was still bringing in a surplus of §168/mo – which may not be a lot but it was a surplus – and taxes were still low, no business deals had been accepted, no income was coming from ordinances (parking fines, gambling) and services were at 100% funding across the board. In short, life was pretty damn good even for the average Fozburg citizen – especially considering a new city zoo had been constructed.

Some run-down and abandoned houses (November 4th, 1921) – pop. 70,804

It wasn’t paradise for everyone though. Certainly those only a small distance from the landfill did not appreciate the smell wafting their way on the breeze, as evidenced by poor neighborhoods and abandoned houses. Luckily the solution to that problem had just arrived in the form of a garbage incinerator, invented in 1920. The only problem is that it was §7,500. Not only that, but the landfill problem wouldn’t immediately go away. Landfills take many, many, many years to decompose so they can finally be re-zoned for other purposes. I’m unsure exactly how long it will take, even.

Incinerator is built & landfill decommissioned (April 16th, 1922) – pop. 70,316

After two years the city finally had just enough money to build the incinerator (across the street from the power plant) and demolish the roads leading to landfills, effectively decommissioning them from active use, which would start the long decomposition process. The garbage incinerator has more than enough capacity to handle the city’s needs well into the future, which is great. Its massive air pollution doesn’t add much more to the equally massive pollution generated by the oil power plant either

A seaport brings in outside commerce (November 12th, 1922) – pop. 70,820

Immediately after the incinerator was constructed, it was decided that the city’s commerce and industry needed a good kick in the pants to match the crazy insane residential demand that was still pummeling the city. The best way to do this is to reach outside the city to the SimNation at large. Airplanes have yet to be invented, but ships are of course already a well-established form of transportation. A §10,000 loan was taken out (at a cost of §100/mo for 5 years), which was almost entirely used to construct the seaport, leaving barely §3,000 behind to continue development elsewhere in the city.

While the successful development of the port was a great boon to industry and commerce in Fozburg, it also had the unforeseen effect of sucking a massive amount of energy – to the point where the city’s Utilities adviser was thrown into a panic over the demand on the power plant, which was approaching dangerous levels.

Fozburg decade city portrait (1930) – pop. 74,560 (click for full panorama)

Fozburg entered into 1930 with only §976 in the bank, but it was still profitable – albeit barely with only §38/mo income. Both residential and industrial taxes had to be raised 1%, and the city was taking in fines for parking. However gambling was still outlawed, the maximum security prison and casino had been turned down numerous times, and all services remained at 100% funding, even with the addition of a museum and a second school and library.

Also, a new industrial sector has been started within the residential areas. The lack of pollution and easy access by residents is hoped to spur on growth of clean industries. So far a lot of dirty industry tends to pop up, but new ordinances are coming out that helps control such aspects of industry.

The second school and library mark the location of a new city that will hopefully grow to be the major commercial sector of Fozburg, given its proximity to the seaport.

The power demands remain a consistent and very serious problem. Brownouts are plaguing the city and the citizens are not happy about it. Currently the power plant is generating at 98% percent capacity, which is very high on the danger chart. It could actually explode, and is already halfway through its lifespan, to make matters worse. For now, expansion of Fozburg has ground to a halt, at least until some power-reduction ordinances can be put into action – and even then perhaps not even until the plant can be replaced.

A closeup of Old Fozburg city center – circa 1925

There’s a lot in store for Fozburg in the years to come!