esirability is a measure of how nice, aesthetically, the area immediately around a house is.

A neighborhood can provide food, water and manufactured goods, and have good access to a variety of services, yet still suffer a lack of desirability. People simply don't like to live too close to structures that cause noise, dirt, danger or traffic. Let common sense be your guide. Would you rather live next to a garden or a pig farm?

Different buildings have substantially different effects on the desirability of the area surrounding them. As you might expect, the larger the building is, the stronger and farther reaching its effect is likely to be. Industries, military buildings and noisier entertainment structures are all highly undesirable neighbors, as you might expect.

Markets are more unusual: they are bad to be right next to, yet they have a positive effect on houses a little further away. Nobody wants to live right next to a noisy, smelly place which gets going at the crack of dawn every day, yet they do want to live close enough that they can just nip round a corner to pick up some more wheat when they run out. Wells also have a mild negative effect on desirability.

Gardens, temples, oracles, educational institutions, government buildings, governor's residences, baths, statues and similar buildings all improve a neighborhood's character. To some extent, you can offset negative influences on desirability by providing positive ones, but blocks near commercial buildings are unlikely to get much beyond medium values. If a neighborhood stops improving, and its residents complain about its desirability, give them a new garden, plaza or statue. If they still aren't happy, look for unpleasant structures nearby and consider relocating them elsewhere . Oh, I nearly forgot: housing that is high up, and waterfront property are both somewhat more desirable in and of themselves. People like living near lakes, rivers and beaches, and they love the views to be had from higher ground. Bear this in mind as you think about your city's master plan.

Give people good jobs, a varied diet, manufactured goods, access to services and pleasant homes. They will do the rest.