Civilization VI · Mechanics

Districts & Adjacency Bonuses, Explained

Districts are the single biggest thing new players underuse. Here's how adjacency actually works, and what to look for before you place one.

The short version

Most districts get a bonus to their main yield from specific nearby terrain, resources, or other districts.
Placement matters more than raw production speed — a well-placed district often outperforms a rushed, badly-placed one for the rest of the game.
Look at the map before founding a city, and mentally reserve tiles for the districts you plan to build.

How Adjacency Works

Most specialty districts generate their primary yield partly from the buildings inside them, and partly from an adjacency bonus — extra yield based on what's on the tiles directly next to the district. The bonus differs by district: Campuses like mountains and rainforest, Commercial Hubs like rivers, Holy Sites like mountains and Natural Wonders, and so on. Placing two matching districts next to each other (a Campus next to another Campus, for example) usually adds a small bonus as well.

Because these bonuses are locked in based on the tile you build on, a district placed without checking its surroundings first can underperform for the rest of the game — there's no way to move it later.

District Reference

Science

Campus

Likes: Mountains, Rainforest, Natural Wonders, other Campuses

Almost always worth building — settle with at least one mountain or rainforest tile in range if you can.

Gold

Commercial Hub

Likes: Rivers, the City Center, other Commercial Hubs

Pairs naturally with river settling, which you'll usually want for Housing anyway.

Gold

Harbor

Likes: Ocean resources, other Harbors, being away from the City Center on the coast

Effectively the coastal version of a Commercial Hub — build one or the other depending on your terrain, not always both.

Faith

Holy Site

Likes: Mountains, Natural Wonders, other Holy Sites

Worth rushing early if you're racing to found a religion — the adjacency bonus scales well with a mountain-heavy start.

Culture

Theater Square

Likes: Wonders, other Theater Squares

Gets dramatically better in a Wonder-heavy capital — pairs naturally with a Culture Victory game plan.

Production

Industrial Zone

Likes: Strategic resources (Mines, Quarries), other Industrial Zones

Place centrally where it can pick up adjacency from several resource tiles at once.

Amenities

Entertainment Complex

Likes: Fewer terrain requirements than most districts

Flexible placement — use it to fill in a tile that doesn't suit any other district well.

Housing

Neighborhood

Likes: Flat terrain, Appeal-boosting features nearby

Check the Housing tooltip before placing — terrain quality changes the yield significantly.

Military

Encampment

Likes: Hills, other Encampments

Also generates Great General points — worth building even in a peaceful game for the extra defense.

Common Mistakes

Placing districts after the fact

Deciding district tiles after founding a city, instead of before, is the single most common way to waste adjacency potential.

Building every district in every city

Not every city needs every district — specialize cities around the terrain they actually have good adjacency for.

Ignoring district-to-district bonuses

Clustering matching districts across nearby cities (multiple Campuses close together, for example) adds up over a full game.

New to Civilization VI?

Start with the fundamentals, including a first look at district planning.

Read the Beginner's Guide