Overview

SimHouston is a SimCity 2000 simulation of Houston Texas, the fourth 
largest city in the US.  Most of Houston was developed during the age of
the automobile.  SimHouston, just like real Houston, has traffic
problems.  You can try to solve these problems by adding buses,
rail or subways.  

Houston is the largest city in the US without a zoning
ordinance.  Newer parts of town have private sector zoning
called 'deed restrictions.'  Many older neighborhoods have
residential, commercial, and light industrial areas mixed
together.  (See the areas north of downtown.)

Houston is the petrochemical capital of the US.  That's why you
see lots of oil storage tanks, etc.

I tried to place the residential, commercial and industrial
sections as close as possible to the actual locations of these
areas.  Note that there is a lot of low density development, and
that there are large undeveloped areas in the suburbs, leading
to a checkerboard pattern of developed and undeveloped land.

Scale 

The scale of this map is about 30 miles on each side.  This map
covers a much larger area than the SimCity program designers
intended.  I suppose that's why the population of SimHouston is
only about 380,000.  The actual population in the area shown is
about 2 million.

Houston is located on the coastal plain of southeast Texas.  The
total elevation change from the southeast corner to the
northwest corner of the map is about 150 feet.  For all
practical purposes, that's flat.

I have included signs to identify various landmarks, but the
city looks much more realistic if you turn the signs off. Click
on the sign icon (located just below the dollar sign icon) to
turn the signs off.  

Transportation

Three words: Cars, Cars, Cars!!

Freeways

The inner freeway loop is I-610.  Inside the loop, freeways are
shown as roads for space saving reasons.

Most of the roads on the map represent actual Houston major
thoroughfares.  However, it is not possible to build roads under
diagonal sections of the highways in SimCity.  Therefore, some
of the diagonal streets and freeways had to be modified slightly.

Mass transit

Houston has a small, well-run bus system.   However, most
Houstonians love their cars and pickups, and probably wouldn't
ride a bus even if you paid them to do so. 

In Houston, rail is used as God intended: to haul freight, not
people.

Are there any subways in Houston?  Are you kidding? 



Since this is a SimCity game, when it comes to mass transit:

		If you build it, SimHoustonians WILL ride.

Ports

The Port of Houston is the second busiest port in the US.  It is
a man-made canal that stretches fifty miles from the Gulf of
Mexico to near downtown.  The actual ship channel is much
narrower than shown.

Houston Intercontinental Airport is in the far north portion of
the map. 

Notice the power lines running alongside North Beltway 8.  When
travelers fly into Houston, the first thing they see after
leaving the airport is power lines and billboards.....  

Arcologies

Houston has one real-life arcology, the original Galleria.   

The Galleria is located on Loop 610 at the Southwest Freeway,
and is the only arcology in the central portion of the map. 

The other arcologies represent far suburban developments that
are actually located a few miles off the map.  The are:

	North: The Woodlands and Kingwood 

	Southwest: Sugarland 

	Southeast: Clear Lake/NASA 

	East: Baytown/Exxon, an industrial arcology

City Services

Hospitals

The Texas Medical Center is south of downtown.  Other hospitals
are placed near the location of actual hospitals.

Museums

The two museums are the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of
Natural Science.  They are both located adjacent to the Herman
Park Zoo.

Nearby is the statue of Sam Houston, hero of the Texas
revolution.  He was the first president of the Republic of Texas
and the first governor of the state after Texas joined the
union.  

Two real estate speculators founded the town shortly after Texas
gained it's independence from Mexico, and they named the city
"Houston" in his honor.    (That was an excellent marketing
decision.)  

Stadiums

South of the zoo, is the Astrodome and Six Flags AstroWorld. 
Query (shift/click) the stadium for the correct local
pronunciation.

Colleges

Actual locations of actual colleges and universities.

Schools

Schools are placed near the location of real high schools.

Libraries

The central library is downtown, across the street from city
hall.  The other libraries do not represent actual library
locations.

Police

The central police station is located downtown, across the
street from city hall.  I placed police stations where
SimHouston needed them.  I didn't try to match with actual
locations.  Note the low crime in the less populated northern
sections.  This is true in real Houston as well.

Fire

I placed fire stations where SimHouston needed them.  I didn't
try to match with actual locations.

Power

The two microwave energy power plants are placed in a corner of
the map.  There aren't really any power plants at that location.
  

Lakes/Water

Addicks and Barker Reservoirs are primarily flood control
structures.  I moved Lake Houston a few miles closer, so it
could provide water.  Lake Houston is the surface water source
for real Houston.  

Prison

There is a state prison farm near the location of the SimPrison.        

Mayor

The mayor of real Houston is "MayorBob" Lanier.  He is,
appropriately for Houston, a millionaire real estate developer
and road builder.  In the last election, he was re-elected with
91% of the vote.  Even the best SimMayor will find it difficult
to match that level of popularity.

Lanier lives in a River Oaks mansion just west of downtown, so
that's where I put the SimMayor's house.  River Oaks is an old
traditional subdivision where some of Houston's wealthiest
residents live.  In true unplanned Houston fashion, this upscale
enclave is sandwiched between public housing projects to the
east and railroad tracks to the west.  



SimHouston gives a glimpse of the real power of Simcity 2000: it
gives us the ability to model actual cities.  I tried several
times to build a SimHouston with SimCity Classic, and finally
gave up.  But it was fairly easy to do with SC2K.  If you have
any feedback, you can contact me, Alan Czarnek, on CompuServe at
71401,3330. (Internet: 71401,3330@compuserve.com)









 











