SimCity 4 > Civic Services > Parks
Sims need to relax and unwind like everyone else. It will be a long time before your city is big enough to afford its own television station, so sims will gather in parks that you set up for them.
Parks improve the health and well-being of sims, and enhance the value of property around them.
| Size | Initial | Monthly | Type of Park | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 × 1 | §40 | §5 | paved lot, grass lot, small park. | |
| 1 × 1 | §40 | §5 | community garden (choice of four). | |
| 1 × 1 | §70 | §10 | playground, gazebo, small plaza. | |
| 1 × 2 | §90 | §10 | basketball court | |
| 1 × 2 | §90 | §10 | ranger station | |
| 1 × 2 | §130 | §15 | tennis court | |
| 1 × 2 | §210 | §25 | skateboard park | |
| 3 × 3 | §350 | §25 | large park | |
| 3 × 3 | §400 | §35 | softball field | |
| 3 × 5 | §340 | §35 | soccer field | |
| 7 × 5 | §70 | §5 | beach |
Beaches must be placed partly on land and partly on water. When you position your beach, it shows red until an ideal spot is found; then it shows blue. Note that the initial cost of building a beach is the minimum; the actual cost could go into the hundreds.
It is apropos, but not required, to put a ranger station next to a forest.
Under a complex set of conditions you can get a tourist trap. This becomes available if your city is in a region of 40,000 sims with at least six interconnected cities, four of which are your neighbors. If these conditions are met, it doesn't matter how big or small your city is.
The tourist trap is a seedy-looking building in the form of a giant llama, with a juggling wolf sign and a copy of the Hachikô dog statue from Tokyo. It costs nothing to set up or keep, and does wonders to your business climate.
Apart from the tourist trap, there are no recreational rewards for cities with fewer than 20,000 sims.