Legend
There are some interesting technical features here, that you might overlook if I didn't mention them.
The treatment of the Stadium is the major innovation. I noticed on the Athlete Diagnostic, for the Stadium, that it was composed of two 5x5 elements, and that got me wondering. You'll notice that the Gymnasiums are symmetrical. If you do it EXACTLY this way, and carefully extend the roadway to the TOP CORNERS of the Stadium, you'll have complete Competitor Coverage of your block, and of course you'll have Athlete Coverage.
There are two fountains. You can sneak by with just one, but a labor shortage will kill you. Two fountains is cheap insurance.
The Tax Office and the Watchtower both have negative appeal, with a range of 2. The Infirmary has negative appeal with a range of 4. Careful placement of these elements protects the houses in the outer row, as they aren't effected at all by the Tax Office, Watchtower, or Infirmary, because of the careful spacing.
The tricky little jog there by the corner of the Palace gets the Maintenance Officer close enough to protect the Palace from damage. The connecting road that enables taxes and the military is actually roadblocked.
The Avenues are only there for aesthetics and connectivity, not appeal, and if you're in a colony without Avenues, or if you're tight on cash, a double wide roadway is equally effective. Just use a roadblock (to force the Maintenance Officer near enough to the Palace, and two sections of roadway to stabilize the outer houses. Note that these two sections of roadway can actually be isolated on the outside of the block, if you prefer that aesthetic.
You'll get a Population Monument when you crack 1000. Use it on either side, 7 tiles from the far edge of the last house. Monumemts actually have an appeal range of only 6, but a Common House takes the appeal value of it's highest tile, so you don't need to cover the entire house.
A Hero's Hall (down at the bottom, shown as a Park) is an excellent way to bump up the appeal of the houses on the end. There's an excellent chance that your Stadium will allow you to win an Athletic Monument. Use it on the other side of your housing block. If the second Monument is not available, a row of Gazebos is your next best appeal investment.
The Maintenance Offices on each end of the housing rows aren't really part of the Housing Block. They serve very nicely, however, to protect other nearby facilities, while providing a gentle reminder that storage facilities and most industries have negative appeal with a range of 4.
This is a sweet little housing block that's cheap to build and easy to remember. Fully evolved, 39 houses will yield a population of 2340, and you can easily reduce that number simply by trimming one of the outside rows.
This Low Bid Common Housing block can be used in any orientation. It can be readily adapted for a Serpentine Layout, by simply opening up any one of the corners.Using a Stadium might seem like an expensive approach, but don't forget that it will service all of the OTHER housing blocks in your city, as well, and you'll only need one Gymnasium at the far end of each double-sided housing row to completely satisfy your Townhouse Culture requirements.
[This message has been edited by MarvL (edited 05-28-2001 @ 04:06 PM).]