Springdale is a winter city, so before district heating every home heats with electricity. Every cold snap means a power shortage, and four wind turbines already run a town of 1,800. I explain why I zone 11 or 12 units deep instead of the default 10, so wide roads and tram lines fit later. A greenhouse farm starts, people get sick from polluted water, and I take two loans I normally avoid. Once the town can afford a geothermal heating plant and heating pipes, a policy bans electric heating and the budget finally breathes.
What happens in this episode
Springdale is the city I started right after finishing Westfield at about 210,000 citizens. This time it’s a winter wonderland with the Snowfall DLC. Episode 1 showed how I set up the first districts to turn a profit fast. Here, winter makes everything harder. The highways also enter and leave on the opposite side from what I’m used to.
How it was built
Electric heating
Until warm water pipes are unlocked, homes heat with electricity. Every time it drops below about -15°C, power runs out. A town of only 1,800 people already needs four wind turbines. In a snowy map, always keep budget for more power, or businesses close quickly.
11 or 12 units, not 10
The game suggests 10-unit blocks. But as soon as you add four-lane roads with medians or tram roads, the road gets wider and you lose a unit of building depth. With 12 units, you still have eight units of building space after the upgrade. I use 11 to 12 units from here on, to be future-safe.
Winter parks and a farm
Organic and local produce shops go in for an achievement. Instead of Japanese gardens there are snowman parks and winter plazas, and two snow dumps fill as it snows. A water pump I placed earlier drained the lake, and I hope it refills. Then comes a farming district, because farms can grow huge. It gets a main building and greenhouses, and silos later.
People getting sick
Citizens left and got sick. I panicked first, then found the cause: water pollution at the pump. I moved it with Move It, which I rarely use. Always check pollution before panicking. I normally play without loans, but here I had to take one, and I paid it back quickly.
Boomtown
At Boomtown, trams, ferries, buses and post become available. A school, a park, a doctor, a fire station and police follow. Then a cemetery, because someone died in an elementary school. A wastewater issue means an eco water treatment plant. More power cuts brought a second loan. School and police budgets are cut at night to save money.
Geothermal heating
At 2,400 citizens, heating pipes unlock. The geothermal heating plant costs 55,000 and about 480 a week, a big hole in a tight budget. Taxes rise to 11%. Pipes go to every residential area, industry and the farm. Then the policy: no electricity for heating. Nobody freezes, and power demand drops.
Growing again
New 12-unit blocks, more residential zones, a removed pointless bridge and new farm buildings follow: workers’ barracks, a small grain silo and a balanced warehouse for farm products. Citizens are moving in and paying taxes again.
Video chapters
- 00:04Winter and electric heating
- 05:16Why 11 or 12 units, not 10
- 10:25Local produce, snowman parks and snow dumps
- 15:32A greenhouse farm
- 20:44People getting sick
- 26:11Polluted water and the first loan
- 31:32Boomtown and a school
- 36:58Fire, police, cemetery and power cuts
- 42:27A second loan
- 47:51Night lights and a tight budget
- 53:38First heating pipes
- 58:49Loan repaid, more industry
- 1:04:31The geothermal heating plant
- 1:09:32Warm water for everyone
- 1:14:41Banning electric heating
- 1:20:27Growth and farm buildings
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
Why does my power run out in winter in Cities Skylines?
With the Snowfall DLC, homes heat with electricity until you build heating pipes. Every time the temperature drops, power demand jumps, so keep spare capacity and budget.
Why zone 11 or 12 units deep instead of 10?
The game suggests 10-unit blocks, but wide roads like four-lane roads with medians or tram roads eat into that later. With 12 units you keep full building depth after upgrading.
How do you stop citizens using electricity for heating?
Build a heating plant (geothermal is my choice), lay heating pipes to every area, then set the policy that bans electricity for heating.