I've been playing Cities for a few months and recently picked up the Green Cities DLC. No more "poo rivers"! The green initiatives have been a fun addition to explore.

One challenge I’ve noticed is staying motivated as my city grows from 50K to 100K. I tend to lose inspiration during this phase. My current project is my first attempt at a grid-style layout (pictured). The messy interchange on the left is intended as a bypass leading to a future cargo hub and airport on/near the coast. Unfortunately, the rail system is far from my city, so trains are on hold for now (plus, I am still quite early game with this city).

I've started mixing in more commercial and office zones, with some high-density residential scattered throughout. For traffic, I’m experimenting with two one-way roads instead of relying on a single six-lane road. I’m unsure if my interchanges are too close or poorly designed, but I’m still figuring out the direction of this build. Sometimes, I find it difficult to distinguish which roads should be arterial or highways and it can lead to a bit of backtracking in game.

I’ve also realized I tend to separate zones too much, which I now know is a common mistake. Early city growth always feels chaotic—never enough roads for new homes, and my districts often feel blocky and disconnected. I’m so impressed by how realistic some of the cities shared here look, especially with the way the roads/highways can connect to multiple points in a very tight area without overly slowing down traffic.

How do you plan and grow your city in a natural, cohesive way? Aside from my current grid project, I usually try to follow the contours of the land and build off of those roads, and I plan to do so with this city once it grows a bit more. I'd love to hear your strategies and suggestions!

If it makes a difference, I do not (can not?) play with mods and am on Xbox Series X.