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A 
tile improvement (or Improvement for short) is a modification to a tile that increases its yields, gives access to 
Resources, improves a civilization's defensive capabilities, or provides infrastructure in Civilization VII and its expansions. Placing Tile Improvements is, apart from developing its 
Cities, the most common way for a civilization to ensure its advancement in the game.
Mechanics[]
A tile can be improved when a 
Settlement gains an extra population and triggers a growth event. This new 
Citizen can either be assigned as a 
Specialist within a 
Building or placed on an unimproved tile to construct a basic Improvement.
Placement requirements[]
For a basic Improvement to be constructed, the tile:
- Must be within your
Settlement's borders. - Must be rural and unimproved.
- Cannot be an Open Ocean.
- Must be adjacent to at least one of the following:
Once these conditions are met, the tile transforms into a rural district, a basic Improvement is built on top of it, and +1 rural population is added to the Settlement.
Improvement types[]
Players cannot manually select which basic Improvement is built — it is determined by the tile's terrain or Resource. Initially, Tile Improvements do not provide additional yields but instead collect the natural yields of the tile. However, they can be enhanced through:
- warehouse Buildings — grant bonuses to specific associated Improvement types within a Settlement.
- Technologies and Civics — can add flat yields to certain Improvements just like warehouses.
- Wonders and Natural Wonders — Can sometimes provide further enhancements to certain Improvements.
Since 
Towns usually grow to a limited number of around 10–15 Citizens, only a handful of Tile Improvements can be placed. For this reason, it's advisable to think ahead about how you want to specialize your Town, as only a limited number of Improvement types can benefit from the specialization bonus. By focusing on a majority of the same Improvement type, Towns become significantly more valuable.
Unique improvements[]
Just like in previous iterations, Civilization VII also features unique Improvements — powerful 
Ageless Improvements available only to select civilizations. Unique Improvements can't be placed freely within a Settlement; instead, they must be built on top of existing standard Improvements. Doing so changes the physical appearance of the tile and adds additional yields, effectively enhancing the base Improvement rather than replacing it. If the Unique Improvement is ever removed, the original Improvement remains intact.
Tile modification[]
Tile Improvements are not permanent and can be removed if a Building or 
Wonder is constructed on the same tile. When this happens, the Improvement is lost, and the assigned Citizen is freed, allowing for reassignment. This occurs even if the construction project is canceled immediately.
Since Tile Improvements expand a Settlement’s borders to adjacent tiles, players can strategically place and cancel Wonders to relocate Improvements to manipulate borders — either to adjust yield generation or to expand territory more efficiently.
Resources[]
Some tiles contain Resources, which can only be harvested once the tile is improved. These Resources provide various benefits, such as bonus 
Combat Strength for your military units or additional yields for the Settlement. However, Resources are an exception to tile modification rules — since Buildings and Wonders cannot be constructed on Resource tiles, improving a Resource tile, as well as mountains or 
Natural Wonders, is a permanent decision.
List of tile improvements[]
Videos[]
Building an empire starts with solid foundations 🧱🏰
Improvements & Yields Gameplay
See also[]
- Tile improvement in other games
| Civilization VII Improvements [edit] | |
|---|---|
| Standard | |
| Unique | |
| City-State | |
| 1 Requires DLC | |
| Civilization VII [edit] |
|---|
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