Housing and Urban Planning

The issues that are attached to Housing - and the other buildings - in the game are a complicated mess. Not only because with each build in a given category the next becomes more expensive and takes more time, but because you really have no choice about whether to build, only WHAT to build - and not always that!

The Order of Building

While you do have a choice as to what you build and when you build it on the surface, in reality there is an order to this that you should probably be observing, specifically to max the progress you make in terms of missions and Quests as well as town development.

Bearing in mind that the development (leveling) of your city is directly related to your ability to complete the many missions, Quests, and expansion content, this is not to be taken lightly.

As a general rule than, you should approach building with the following logical order in mind - that is to say that when you do not HAVE to build a specific structure, this is the order you should use to decide what you build in that case. Bearing in mind that it is, strategically, a very good policy to ALWAYS have some sort of construction build in progress at all times until the time comes when you cannot build anything.

The Strategic Build Order is:

1. Community
   
2. Career
   
3. Commercial
   
4. Residential
   

Remember even if you do not have a family to move into a house it is okay to build that house anyway. Also remember that you want to build a variety of Housing - not all mansions, not all cheap prefab. You get the idea.

Community Builds

The Community Builds in your town correspond to the following structures:

1. Community Center
   
2. Town Park
   
3. Promotion Center
   
4. Competition Center
   
5. Bingo Parlor
   
6. Stables
   
7. High Top Carnival
   
8. Ice Ape Arcade
   
9. Barkshire Pet Park
   
10. Northern Glade Castle
    

Career Builds

The Career Builds in your town correspond to the following structures:

1. Fire Station
   
2. Town Hall
   
3. Science Lab
   
4. Swimming Center
   
5. Snow Park
   
6. Art Gallery
   
7. Real Estate Agency
   
8. Elementary School
   
9. High School
   
10. Recording Studio
    
11. Stadium
    
12. Movie Studio
    

Commercial Builds

The Commercial Builds in your town correspond to the following structures:

1. Car Dealership
   
2. Hobby Shop
   
3. Pet Store
   
4. Grocery Store
   
5. Children's Store
   
6. Fashion and Fancy Dress Shop
   
7. Nightclub
   
8. Salon
   
9. Shopping Mall
   

Residential Builds

The Residential Builds in your town correspond to the following structures:

1. Initially build the Housing you can afford for your existing Sims
   
2. As you add new Sims add new Housing - shoot for diversity
   
3. Try to complete Limited Time Events that offer luxury Housing.
   

Special Construction

In addition to the above there are also some special construction projects that will take a very VERY long time to complete. These are:

Island Volcano (Requires building all four shrines)
The Flames of Wisdom Shrine
The Riches of Terra Shrine
The Springs of Fortune Shrine
The Tempest of Bliss Shrine