---
key: mechanic/settlement-management--t105
type: mechanic
id: settlement-management--t105
lang: en
title: 'Infrastructure, zoning and adjacency'
summary: >-
  Object placement determines a base’s accessibility and convenience. Players
  consider occupied space, building connections and travel routes.
updatedAt: '2026-10-21'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/settlement-management--t105/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/settlement-management--t105.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/settlement-management--t105.md
aliases:
  - Building placement and adjacency
tags:
  - Organization and settlement management
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-96be186d8ada50a0
  - source-df9ed2d1b2e7ac06
sources:
  - id: source-96be186d8ada50a0
    title: 'Factorio: Content'
    url: 'https://www.factorio.com/game/content'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-df9ed2d1b2e7ac06
    title: Spiritfarer
    url: 'https://thunderlotusgames.com/press-kits/spiritfarer-press-kit/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: settlement-management
    id: t105
    title: Organization and settlement management
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/settlement-management/#t105'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-21'
    title: Building placement and adjacency
    description: >-
      Object placement determines a base’s accessibility and convenience.
      Players consider occupied space, building connections and travel routes.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/spiritfarer-building.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Spiritfarer
      sourceUrl: 'https://thunderlotusgames.com/press-kits/spiritfarer-press-kit/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://thunderlotusgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Spiritfarer-SCREENSHOTS-03.jpg
      credit: Thunder Lotus
      rights: © Thunder Lotus. All rights reserved.
      caption: Arranging rooms and ladders
      alt: >-
        Spiritfarer: rooms are stacked above the deck, ladders connect levels
        and a new garden appears as a green preview.
      markers:
        - x: 66
          'y': 55
          label: A ladder connects building levels
        - x: 48
          'y': 66
          label: A new object occupies grid space
    tips:
      - Allow access routes to be checked before placing a building.
      - Keep rearrangement affordable enough to correct a layout.
    examples:
      - title: Spiritfarer
        url: 'https://thunderlotusgames.com/press-kits/spiritfarer-press-kit/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/settlement-management
---
# Infrastructure, zoning and adjacency

id: settlement-management--t105
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/settlement-management--t105
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/settlement-management--t105/

Object placement determines a base’s accessibility and convenience. Players consider occupied space, building connections and travel routes.

## At a glance

![Spiritfarer: rooms are stacked above the deck, ladders connect levels and a new garden appears as a green preview.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/spiritfarer-building.webp)

[Spiritfarer](https://thunderlotusgames.com/press-kits/spiritfarer-press-kit/) · © Thunder Lotus. All rights reserved.

1. A ladder connects building levels
2. A new object occupies grid space

- Allow access routes to be checked before placing a building.
- Keep rearrangement affordable enough to correct a layout.

- [Spiritfarer](https://thunderlotusgames.com/press-kits/spiritfarer-press-kit/)

## How it works

Infrastructure connects plots through flows, while zoning and adjacency determine functional compatibility.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t105-variants"></a>

- Networks serve only connected plots. <a id="t105-v1"></a>
- Adjacency creates bonuses or negative effects. <a id="t105-v2"></a>
- Zones constrain future building types. <a id="t105-v3"></a>
- Trunk routes have limited throughput. <a id="t105-v4"></a>

## Design example

A school is walkable from housing, but a factory freight entrance crosses the main school route.

Prototype check: Test network continuity after redeveloping a plot and clear explanations for negative adjacency.

## Context and limits

Organization management allocates space, time, staff and services among competing needs. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Factorio: Content](https://www.factorio.com/game/content) (id: source-96be186d8ada50a0)
- [Spiritfarer](https://thunderlotusgames.com/press-kits/spiritfarer-press-kit/) (id: source-df9ed2d1b2e7ac06)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors