Policies

This article is considered accurate for the current version of the game.

You can select policies that affect the city and its districts from a predetermined list. Policies have both positive and negative effects. For example, a smoking ban will make citizens healthier, but it can make them unhappy. Policies can be set for the entire city, or for different districts in the city to make them look, play, and feel different.

Set policies for a district by clicking it when the policies panel is open.

Categories

Policies in the "Services", "Taxation" or "City Planning" categories can be found in the policies panel on their respective tab.

Policies in the "Campus" category do not appear in the policies panel. They appear in the panel that appears when clicking on a Campus Area.

Policies in the "Festival" category do not appear in the policies panel. They appear in the panel that appears when clicking on the Festival Area constructed from the Unique Buildings "Concert" tab.

Policies in the "Industry" category do not appear in the policies panel. They appear in the panel that appears when clicking on an Industry Area.

Policies in the "Parks" category do not appear in the policies panel. They appear in the panel that appears when clicking on a Park Area.

Policies in the "Stadium" category do not appear in the policies panel. They appear in the panel that appears when clicking on one of the stadiums constructed from the Unique Buildings "Football" tab or the stadiums from the "Varsity Sports" tab in the "Education and Campus Areas" menu. Does not apply to the level 6 Unique Building "Stadium".

Policies in the "Varsity" category do not appear in the policies panel. They appear in the panel that appears when clicking on a Campus Area.

Policy	Category	Unlocked	DLC	Effect	Upkeep/Drawback
Ad Campaign (Concerts)	Festival	Tiny Town		Advertise the Festival to attract more visitors. Increases all band popularity by +1 per month.	₡9,000/week
Advanced Automation	Industry	Tiny Town		Increase production output by 10%	Increase buildings upkeep by 10%
Advertisement Campaign (Parks)	Parks	Tiny Town		Draws 20% more visitors.	₡200/week
Advertisement Campaign (Varsity Sports)	Varsity	Big Town		Draws 20% more visitors to arenas on campus.	₡200/week/arena located on campus
Animal Ethics	Parks	Tiny Town		Boosts the entertainment effect of the Zoo buildings by 20%.	₡10/Zoo Building
Anti-Slip Studs	City Planning	Busy Town		Increases the health of elderly citizens by making them less likely to slip on icy streets.	₡4/senior citizen
Automated Toll	City Planning	Big Town	-	Vehicles do not need to stop at toll booths, only slow down. Increases vehicle flow.	Reduces Toll Booth income by 30%
Automated Sorting	Services	Big Town		Increases mail capacity by 10%	₡300/city post service building
Big Business Benefactor	City Planning	Small City	-	High density commercial buildings double their sales.	₡4/week/high density commercial building
Bike Ban On Sidewalks	City Planning	Busy Town		This policy bans cycling on sidewalks. Bikes can only use dedicated bike lanes and bike pathways.
Book Fair	Services	Busy Town		Increased happiness and entertainment within the Public Libraries radius.	Public Libraries upkeep increased by 100%.
Boost Connections	City Planning	Busy Town		Outside connection traffic capacity is increased by 20%. Applies to boats, planes, trains and private cars.	₡10,000/week
Celebrate	Parks	Tiny Town		Fireworks daily after dark instead of every week.
Combustion Engine Ban	City Planning	Busy Town		Reduced traffic noise in policy area.	Combustion Engine vehicles cannot travel through policy area. (They may travel there if it is their destination or point of origin.)
Come One, Come All	Stadium	Tiny Town		Public transport is free on match days. Increased amount of visitors raises the odds of winning matches.	No ticket revenue from public transport on match days.
Education Boost	Services	Big Town	-	Prioritize education over working for young adults.	Education budget increased by 25%.
Educational Blimps	Services	Big Town		Switch advertisements on blimps to be educational posters to boost education slightly.	No cost.
Encourage Biking	City Planning	Tiny Town		When this policy is active, most citizens will prefer bicycles over motor vehicles.
Electric Cars	City Planning	Busy Town		Reduced traffic noise in policy area. Everyone living in the policy area must switch to an electric car if they own any cars.	₡2/Vehicle/week
Even More Fun	Parks	Tiny Town		Boosts the entertainment effect of the Amusement Park buildings by 20%.	₡10/Amusement Park building
Extra Insulation	Services	Boom Town		Buildings require less energy for heating thanks to the extra insulation layer in their walls and roof.	Reduction in tax income due to higher construction/maintenance costs.
Fan Club Support	Varsity	Big Town		Increases odds of winning home and away games by 7%.	₡180/week/arena located on campus
Fast Recovery	City Planning	Busy Town		Emergency Response Unit does not search for survivors; only makes lot ready for re-building. City recovers faster.	Increased loss of citizens from disaster.
Filter Industrial Waste	City Planning	Busy Town		Industrial buildings filter their waste, reducing the ground pollution they create.	₡2/Industrial Building/week
Fine For Fireworks	Parks	Tiny Town		The Park Area will not organize fireworks while this policy is active.	No fireworks.
For-Profit Education	Services	Big Town		All education building upkeep reduced by 50%.	Reduces citizen happiness.
Free Lunch	Campus	Big Town		Increased student happiness.	Campus upkeep cost increased by ₡1/student
Free Public Transport	Services	Busy Town	-	Increased use of public transportation.	No income from buses, trams, metro vehicles, local trains, or monorail vehicles.
Free WiFi	Services	Boom Town		Reduce mail accumulation by 15%	₡2/building
Harsh Prison Sentences	Services	Big Town		The prison sentences are twice as long as usual and the harsh verdicts keep the worst felons off the streets for longer, causing a reduction in crime rate.	Double the usual prison sentences; uses prison space longer.
Heavy Traffic Ban	City Planning	Busy Town	-	Cargo Trucks cannot travel through a designated district; highways are not affected. This can be placed on an entire city, but has no effect on traffic.	Can block deliveries.
Helicopter Priority	Services	Busy Town		Emergency services will use helicopters instead of ground vehicles.	No cost.
High Tech Housing	City Planning	Small City	-	Slightly increased land value.	₡4/week/residential building
High Ticket Prices	Services	Boom Town		Raises public transport ticket prices by 25% to get more profit.	This may result in fewer passengers.
Highrise Ban	City Planning	Small City	-	Prohibits construction of tall buildings.	Restricts the buildings from reaching their highest level.
Improved Logistics	Industry	Tiny Town		Increases the storage capacity of Extractors and Processing buildings by 20%	Increase upkeep cost of industrial buildings by 10%
Improved Work Safety Supervision	Industry	Tiny Town		Increase worker's health	₡1/affected worker
Industrial Space Planning	City Planning	Small City	-	Doubles goods from industrial buildings.	₡6/week/industrial building
Industry 4.0	City Planning	Big Town	-	All industrial workplaces are for well educated and highly educated citizens. Increased production output by 50%.	No industrial workplaces for uneducated or educated citizens. Reduces workplaces by 30% / zoned industry.
Let Go of Leisure	Taxation	Big Town		Leisure specialized areas get a hefty boost in their entertainment and attractiveness values.	No tax income from leisure specialized buildings in affected area.
Lightning Rods	City Planning	Big Town		Tallest buildings install lightning rods to lower the likelihood of them catching fire during a thunderstorm.	₡1.60/week/building
Main Park	Parks	Tiny Town		Mark the park as the main attraction in the city to make it more attractive to tourists. If you have several parks with this policy active, they are equally attractive to visitors.
Match Security	Stadium	Tiny Town		Hires security personnel to keep crime low around the stadium.	₡500/week/stadium
Night Tours	Parks	Tiny Town		Draws 30% more visitors during night-time.	₡50/week
NIMBY	City Planning	Tiny Town		No loud noise in the night! Leisure specialized areas will close for the night. Reduces noise pollution caused by leisure.	Reduced income from leisure specialized buildings at night.
No Electricity for Heat	Services	Tiny Town		Buildings can only use heat produced by heating services. Reduces electricity consumption.	Increases the demand on city heating services.
No Re-Building	City Planning	Busy Town		Forbid re-building on lots with destroyed buildings.	Lots have to be manually bulldozed to allow re-building.
Old Town	City Planning	Tiny Town		Only residents and businesses can use the area for motor vehicles.	Other motor vehicles banned.
Only Electricity for Heat	Services	Boom Town		Buildings are forbidden to use heating services; they can only use electricity.	Raises electricity consumption significantly during cold spells.
Parks and Recreation	Services	Tiny Town	-	Moderately increased land value around parks and plazas.	Increases the Parks and Plazas budget by 20%.
Park Maintenance Boost	Services	Tiny Town		Increases Park Maintenance vehicles' shift length by 50%.	₡80/Park Maintenance Building
Pet Ban	Services	Tiny Town	-	Slightly reduced garbage accumulation.	Slightly decreased happiness.
Power Usage	Services	Worthy Village	-	Moderately reduced electricity consumption (Reduced by 11%).	₡5/week/building
Prefer Ferries	Services	Boom Town		Citizens prefer ferries for moving in the city.	₡2/ferry in use.
Prefer Parks	Services	Tiny Town		Parks, Plazas and Park Areas draw 10% more visitors.	₡100/Park, Plaza or Park Area in the policy area.
Premium Studio	Festival	Tiny Town		A Premium Studio will increase the chances of a successful concert.	₡3,000/week
Recreational Use	Services	Boom Town	-	Slightly increased tax income. Moderately increased tourism. Slightly reduced crime rate.	+15% Police budget
Recycle Garbage	Parks	Tiny Town		Decrease garbage accumulation by 20% for the Nature Reserve buildings.	₡10/Nature Reserve Building
Recycle Plastic	Services	Boom Town		Recycling Centers work with +20% efficiency.	₡100/Recycling Center/week
Recycling	Services	Boom Town	-	Slightly reduced garbage accumulation.	Slightly reduced tax income.
School's Out	Services	Tiny Town		The citizens will prefer working over education and only a small portion of the eligible citizens will go to study in the university.	Results in fewer highly educated citizens.
Small Business Enthusiast	City Planning	Small City	-	Low density commercial buildings double their sales.	₡2/week/low density commercial building
Smoke Detector Distribution	Services	Worthy Village	-	Significantly reduced risk of fire.	₡5/week/building
Smoking Ban	Services	Tiny Town	-	Slightly increased health.	Slightly decreased happiness.
Sponsorship Deals	Varsity	Big Town		Decreased upkeep cost of campus' varsity sports by 8%.	Billboard change from varsity team's logo to sponsor's brand.
Studded Tires	City Planning	Busy Town		Cars are required to have studded tires during the winter. This makes cars resistant to small amounts of snow, keeping the traffic smoother even if there's some snow on the roads.	Increases road maintenance cost by 25%.
Student Healthcare	Campus	Big Town		Increased student health.	Campus upkeep cost increased by ₡5/student
Subsidized Youth	Stadium	Tiny Town		Spending money on training young players increases the odds of your team winning.	₡9,000/week/stadium
Tax Raise for Low Density Residential	Taxation	Big Town	-	Increases the tax rate by 2% for low density residential.
Tax Raise for High Density Residential	Taxation	Big Town	-	Increases the tax rate by 2% for high density residential.
Tax Raise for Low Density Commercial	Taxation	Big Town	-	Increases the tax rate by 2% for low density commercial.
Tax Raise for High Density Commercial	Taxation	Big Town	-	Increases the tax rate by 2% for high density commercial.
Tax Raise for Offices	Taxation	Big Town	-	Increases the tax rate by 2% for offices.
Tax Relief for Low Density Residential	Taxation	Big Town	-	Lowers the tax rate by 2% for low density residential.	Decreased tax income from low density residential buildings in affected area.
Tax Relief for High Density Residential	Taxation	Big Town	-	Lowers the tax rate by 2% for high density residential.	Decreased tax income from high density residential buildings in affected area.
Tax Relief for Low Density Commercial	Taxation	Big Town	-	Lowers the tax rate by 2% for low density commercial.	Decreased tax income from low density commercial buildings in affected area.
Tax Relief for High Density Commercial	Taxation	Big Town	-	Lowers the tax rate by 2% for high density commercial.	Decreased tax income from high density commercial buildings in affected area.
Tax Relief for Offices	Taxation	Big Town	-	Lowers the tax rate by 2% for offices.	Decreased tax income from offices in affected area.
Universal Education	Campus	Capital City		Students don't pay any tuition fees. Increases Campus attractiveness by 20% Increases student happiness.	No income from Campus tuition fees.
VIP	City Planning	Big Town		All shelters in policy area are reserved only for citizens living in the policy area.	Citizens not from the area cannot take refuge in these shelters.
Visiting Scholars	Campus	Big City		Affects all Faculties within the Campus Area. Increases Faculty bonus by 25%	Affects all Faculties within the Campus Area. Faculty upkeep cost increased by 25%
Water Usage	Services	Worthy Village	-	Moderately reduced water consumption (Reduced by 15%).	₡5/week/building
Workers' Union	City Planning	Busy Town		Slightly increase adult citizen's happiness	Reduce residential tax income by 2%

*Only applies to bus, tram, metro, monorail, and local train fares. For district policies, only passengers leaving from that district will get a free ride. Intercity trains, cargo trains, ships, planes and taxis will still continue to provide revenue, regardless.