Civilization VII Analyst: Cities

*This page last updated: 03 March, 2025 11:40 PST. (Log of recent changes)

Cities

Cities and Towns are both referred to as "Settlements."
New settlements are founded as Towns, which have no build queue and convert all of their production to Gold. Items in Towns can only be bought with Gold.
Population is permanently assigned to work a tile, which is automatically improved; you can no longer move them around to change a city's output.
Towns can be turned into cities by spending Gold; the cost increases with the number of cities you already control
Towns can adopt permanent specializations with bonuses: farming town, mining town, military fort, trade outpost
The settlement border expands when you build a district by claiming all adjacent tiles.
There is a Settlement Cap which increases over time; if you have more cities than this cap, they will be subject to a Happiness penalty.
Towns send excess food to Cities. To grow as quickly as possible, you want to have the fewest number of cities to split this amount.
If a Town grows large enough (reportedly population 7) it can specialize in one particular yield type.
Population can be allocated as Specialists to Urban Districts instead of working a new tile. Specialists add 2 Science and 2 Culture and cost 2 Food and 2 Happiness. Some civs and leaders will get bonuses (Confucius gets extra Science). There can only be 1 specialist per tile.
There is a Settlement Cap; each Settlement over this limit imposes a -5 Happiness penalty to every settlement.
The Settlement Cap is specific to each civilization, and can be increased through technologies, civics, structures and effects.
There is no longer a city loyalty mechanic, so you can settle near another empire without worrying about losing the settlement due to loyalty.
Only tiles which have been assigned population (and therefore an improvement) will provide yields to the city. Other tiles claimed by nearby improvement placement (or other effects) but not yet themselves improved do not.

Towns can have a specialization called a Focus. I think it requires a minimum population size (perhaps 7). Once set, a Focus cannot be changed for the rest of that Age. Available focuses:

Growing Town (default): Increases Town's Growth by 50%. (Towns without a Growing Town focus send all their Food to connected cities)
Fort Town:+5 Healing to Units and +25 Health to Wall in this Town.
Urban Center: +1 Culture and Science on Quarters in this Town.
Farming Town: +1 Food on Farms, Pastures, Plantations and Fishing Boats.
Mining Town: +1 Production on Camps, Woodcutters, Clay Pits, Mines and Quarries.
Trade Outpost: +2 Happiness to each Resource tile in the Town and +5 Trade Route range.
Religious Site: Bonus Happiness to all Temples in your Empire.
Hub Town: Bonus Influence for every connected Settlement.
Factory Town: Bonus Gold towards purchasing a Factory in this Town and adds an additional Resource Slot.

Districts and Quarters

Each city tile represents a District. An Urban District may have up to two buildings in it (in the Antiquity Era).
All buildings (including former City Center buildings) must be placed in an Urban District. Urban Districts must be adjacent to other Urban Districts.
When you assign a population to work a resource tile, that tile is automatically improved and becomes a "Rural District."
An Urban District that is full of buildings (usually 2) becomes a "Quarter."
If you build two of a civilization's unique buildings in the same district, it becomes a Unique Quarter with special bonuses.
Rural Districts are permanent, but they can be overwritten by Urban Districts, like Improvements from previous iterations.
Districts can only be placed adjacent to existing ones.
Placing a District claims all adjacent tiles for that city if they are not already a part of it.

Fortified Districts

More than one Urban District in a city can have walls, making each a Fortified District. All Fortified Districts must be captured in order to capture a city. Walls do not take up a building slot.

Ancient Walls

Adds 100 HP to the District and +15 Combat Strength to Units defending the tile. Must be built adjacent to another Fortified District.

Medieval Walls

Adds 100 HP to the District and +15 Combat Strength to units defending the tile. Must be built adjacent to another Fortified District.

Bridges

Bridges are actually buildings in Civ VII. Roads that cross Navigable Rivers automatically create a Ferry crossing, where units must still embark to cross. To allow units to cross without embarking, you can build Bridges which are classified as buildings and take up one slot in a Quarter.

Ancient Bridge

Requires: Engineering II
+4 Gold. Allows Land Units to move over a Navigable River without having to Embark. Cheaper to build where a Road has already formed a Ferry across the River. Must be placed on a Navigable River. Pillaged by any Flood.

Medieval Bridge

Requires: Feudalism II
+4 Gold. Allows Land Units to move over a Navigable River without having to Embark. Cheaper to build where a Road has already formed a Ferry across the River. Must be placed on a Navigable River.

Modern Bridge

Requires: Urbanization II
+6 Gold; Allows Land Units to move over a Navigable River without having to Embark. Cheaper to build where a Road has already formed a Ferry across the River. Must be placed on a Navigable River. Unaffected by floods.

Unique Quarters

Placing two of your civilization's unique buildings in the same district, it becomes a Unique Quarter with special bonuses. The Unique Quarter also unlocks building your civilization's Great Persons, if it has any.

Forum

Rome's Unique Quarter, the Forum, is formed when you place both a Basilica and the Temple of Jupiter in the same district. Adds Culture and Gold for every Roman Tradition in the government.

Necropolis

Egyptian Unique Quarter. Gain Gold every time a Wonder is completed in this City.

Acropolis

Greek Unique Quarter. Increased Gold on the Parthenon building for every City-State you are suzerain of.

Matha

Mauryan Unique Quarter. Increases Happiness in this City.

Uwaybil K'uh

Mayan Unique Quarter. Every time you research a Technology, this City gains Production equal to a small percentage of its cost.

Five Hundred Lords

Chola Unique Quarter. Increased Land Trade Route Range and Water Trade Route Range.

Donjon

Norman Unique Quarter. Receive a free Chevaler Unique Cavalry Unit when completed.

Ulema

Abbasid Unique Quarter. Adds Science to all Specialists in this city.

Plaza

Spanish Unique Quarter. +2 Gold in this Settlement for every Settlement in Distant Lands.

Pura

Majapahit Unique Quarter. Receive a Relic when completed.

Zócalo

Mexican Unique Quarter. Increased Culture for every Unique Tradition slotted into the Government.

Industrial Park

American Unique Quarter. Increased Food in this City for every Resource assigned to this City.

Huiguan

Qing Unique Quarter. Increased Influence in this Settlement.

Avenue

French Unique Quarter. Increased Happiness on Urban Districts in this City.

Zaibatsu

Meiji Unique Quarter. Buildings in adjacent tiles gain increased Gold and Production.

Financial Centre

British Unique Quarter. Increased Gold for every connected Settlement.

Punic Port

Carthaginian Unique Quarter. Increased Resource Capacity in this Settlement. Can be built in Towns.

Buildings

There appear to be six different regional building styles, and each Civilization has unique Palace and City Hall buildings in addition to one or two unique structures.

Ageless buildings do not lose any benefits on Age transition, but they cannot be built after their native Age.
Persistent buildings do not lose any benefits on Age transition, but can continue to be built in subsequent Ages.
Neither Ageless nor Persistent buildings can be overbuilt.

Palace

+5 Food, +5 Production, +5 Happiness
Capitals start with a Palace building in an Urban District. Other Towns and Cities also appear to have a central building, a City Hall. Bonuses are unknown.

Egypt Rome Mayan Norman

Click Here for a list of civilization-specific Palace variants.

City Hall

Both Towns and Cities which are not the Capital appear to have a City Hall. Bonuses are unknown.

Click here for a list of civilization-specific City Hall variants.

(Misc. Unknown Buildings)

Antiquity Age Buildings

Exploration Age Buildings

Modern Age Buildings

Unique Buildings

Civilization unique builds are additions rather than replacements for standard buildings. They are Ageless and persist into the following Ages, and so an empire can build up to three sets of unique buildings over the course of a full game. If a civilization has two unique buildings and they are both placed in the same tile, they form a Unique Quarter and provide special bonuses (see above).

Mastaba

Egyptian unique culture building. +3 Culture. +1 Gold adjacency for Desert terrain and Wonders. Ageless.

Mortuary Temple

Egyptian unique gold building. +4 Gold. +1 Happiness adjacency for Navigable Rivers and Wonders. Ageless.

Dharamshala

Mauryan unique happiness building. +3 Happiness. +1 Science adjacency for Quarters and Wonders. Ageless.

Vihara

Mauryan unique happiness building. +3 Happiness. +1 Culture adjacency for Mountains and Wonders. Ageless.

Basilica

Roman unique gold building. +4 Gold. +1 Influence adjacency for Culture Buildings and Wonders. Ageless.

Temple of Jupiter

Roman unique happiness building. +3 Happiness. +1 Culture adjacency for Happiness Buildings and Wonders. Ageless.

Parthenon

Greek Unique Culture building. +4 Culture. +2 Influence if placed on Rough Terrain. +1 Culture adjacency for wonders.

Odeon

Greek Unique Happiness building. +3 Happiness. +1 Culture adjacency for Quarters and wonders.

K'uh Nah

Mayan unique Science building. Science adjacency for Vegetated tiles.

Jalaw

Mayan unique Happiness building. Culture adjacency for Quarters.
Note: This is a court for the infamous Mayan ball game.

Manigramam

Requires: Nagaram; Maintenance: -3 Gold
Chola Unique Happiness Building. +4 Happiness. +1 Happiness for each adjacent Gold constructible and wonder, +1 Gold for each adjacent wonder.

Anjuvannam

Requires: Nagaram; Maintenance:
Chola Unique Gold Building. +5 Gold. +1 Gold for each adjacent Coast, Navigable River and wonder. +50% Production towards Naval Units. Must be placed adjacent to a Coast tile.

Motte

Norman Unique Building. +4 Happiness. +4 Happiness if placed on Rough Terrain. Happiness adjacency for Wonders. Counts as a Fortification.

Bailey

Norman Unique Building. +4 Culture. +1 Culture per adjacent Medieval Walls and wonder. Counts as a Fortification.

Madrasa

Abbasid Unique Science Building. Science adjacency for Quarters and Science Buildings.

Mosque

Abbasid Unique Happiness Building. Happiness Adjacency for Culture Buildings and Culture Adjacency for Happiness Buildings. Unlocks the ability to found a Religion.

Casa Consistorial

Spanish Unique Culture Building. +5 Culture. +1 Culture adjacency for Quarters and Wonders. Must be built in the Homelands adjacent to Coast.

Casa de Contratación

Spanish Unique Gold Building. +5 Gold. +1 Gold Adjacency with Navigable River and Resource tiles. Must be built in the Homelands.

Candi Bentar

Majapahit Unique Food Building. Receive a Culture Adjacency for Coast and Navigable River tiles.

Meru

Majapahit Unique Happiness Building. Ageless. Receive a Happiness Adjacency for Mountains and Wonders. Increased Happiness on Natural Wonder tiles.

Catedral

Mexican Unique Building. Culture base. Receive a Happiness Adjacency from Culture Buildings.

Portal de Mercaderes

Mexican Unique Building. Culture base. Receive a Gold Adjacency from Gold Buildings.

Railyard

American Unique Building. Gold base. Receive a Production Adjacency for Quarters.
Note: It appears from the Modern livestream that the graphic has changed, omitting the roundhouse.

Steel Mill

American Unique Building. Production base. Receive a Gold Adjacency for Resources.

Shiguan

Qing Unique Building. Science base. Happiness adjacency with Happiness buildings.
Note: I'm not 100% sure which building is the Shiguan and which is the Qianzhuang, but this is my guess.