City residents | City managing Civilization IV Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
In general the more residents city has, the better. Every citizen makes it possible to put him to work on next tile in city reach or to make next specialist - so, the number of citizens is strongly connected with your global Production, cultural, financial and research potential.
However, you should avoid uncontrolled city growth - too much new people in short time makes part of them unhappy because you don't have means to maintain order in city.
Following factors determine a maximum number of city's inhabitants:
- Food output;
- buildings - Aqueduct and Hospital are increasing health; Forge, Coal Plant or Factory are decreasing it;
- landscape - forest and fresh water helps, flood plains and jungle - cause harm;
- Global availability of Food resources - the health bonus is vital. Every one gives +1 health, and with proper building +2;
- Technological advancements - genetics and future tech increasing health by +3 and +1 respectively.
A little more complex is the technology's influence on Food output:
- Bureaucracy makes possible to build Farms without fresh water adjacent to another farm;
- Biology gives +1 Food from Farms and allow to build Farms even without fresh water and adjacent Farm;
- State property civics give +1 Food from Watermills and Workshop.
As you see, most of these factors are directly linked with city placement, but there are also important global factors which can help a lot - but only if the city has appropriate terrain.
Happiness factors:
- Temples - Every one gives +1 happy;
- Religion - After you choose state religion, in every city where believers of this particular faith are, you will have +1 happy (and +2 culture, what is usually also very important);
- Culture - With such buildings like Colosseum or Theatre culture generated with your Global Settings (more about this in chapter Money) greatly improve citizens' happiness;
- Luxurious resources - every one gives +1 happy, and with proper building gives another +1.