A new highway connection opens a fresh stretch of land: Takaoka's first row houses, a school campus with a gym and basketball court, a technical university, a 200-space underground parking garage downtown that fills instantly, and a rebuilt riverside with a small lake, a tourist viewpoint over downtown and offices growing naturally.
What happens in this episode
The high-wealth peninsula from episode 16 gets a few more trees first, placed with Anarchy because its road layout is unusual. Then Takaoka moves on: residential demand is huge, so a new area opens up with its own highway connection.
How it was built
The first row houses
After landscaping, a road links the new area to the highway. The first row houses in the whole city go in, just two squares deep. They don’t look bad at all.
A school campus
Around them, a school with a park: a small sports park, a gymnasium, a basketball court, paved paths with lights so students feel safe at night, and parking. A Japanese medical centre wouldn’t connect properly and had to be rebuilt; one road had a mysterious dead end. Later the campus gets a different high school, a technical university, a lecture hall, a modern university and an urban elementary school, a far better use of the land and less dominated by one type of Chinese school. Mail service needed attention again, and lane management will be needed soon.
Low-rent towers, offices and a big garage
The Chinese low-rent housing looks good here, and the new North American skyscrapers are tempting for later. Find It filters US offices three deep. Offices wouldn’t be built too close together. Downtown parking is scarce, so a 200-space underground garage goes in. Everyone headed straight for it, because it’s one of the few parking options in the centre. Some houses will have to make way for more parking and the big towers eventually. There were 14 million in the bank, and four police stations served the whole city surprisingly well.
Rebuilding the riverside
The river’s flow made one area awkward and left strips of land unusable, so part of it is rebuilt more organically. Some houses had to go, which residents won’t love, but the area stays mostly low density. The hearses piling up again was frustrating at this point.
A tourist viewpoint
To start attracting tourists, a viewpoint with a great view over downtown goes on the hill, with props cleared and parking nearby. One building’s stairs let people walk across into the next building. It’s not perfect, but it’s a nice way to connect two buildings. Surfaces are connected by hand, because the bucket tool gives inconsistent textures.
A lake and park areas
A small lake and a hand-made park finish the riverside. There’s still no parks expansion, but I’m used to building my own from the first game. The area tool in the landscaping menu lets you define a space as a park, which seems to count as green space. Offices grow naturally on the remaining lots, and the transition between industry and the commercial-residential area is next.
Video chapters
- 00:01Trees for the luxury district, a new highway link
- 11:10The first row houses and a school campus
- 17:39A technical university and mail service
- 24:02Chinese low-rent housing and offices
- 29:53A 200-space underground garage
- 38:25Rebuilding the riverside
- 53:44A tourist viewpoint over downtown
- 57:51A small lake and park areas
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
Is underground parking worth it in Cities: Skylines 2?
Downtown, absolutely. The 200-space underground garage in Takaoka filled up almost immediately — it was one of the few parking options in the centre.
Can you make your own park without a parks expansion?
Yes. Build it from paths, water, trees and props, then use the area tool in the landscaping menu to define the space as a park area so it counts as green space.
How do you make a school feel like a campus?
Group the buildings and surround them with a park: paved paths with lights, a gym, a basketball court and a sports field, plus parking for staff and parents.