Lot assignment

Lot assignment is an option that defines the specialty of a lot type. In The Sims, lots are only distinguished between residential lot and community lot. In The Sims 2, in addition to the residential and community lots, the game recognizes the term as lot zoning that define special lots, such as dormitories, hotels, apartments, secret society lots, and so on. Lot zoning, however, is an advanced cheat, so it was not meant to be used freely.

Beginning in The Sims 3, the players are able to set and define the type of a lot. The feature returns in The Sims 4. Lot assignment allows community lots to be distinct from each other, depending on the assignment they have. For example, a park is expected to be outdoors and have playground objects, while a lounge is expected to have bars and indoor amenities.

The Sims 3
In The Sims 3, the players can set the lot assignment via Edit Town mode with patch 1.12. Prior to patch 1.12, the players have no free control to set the lot assignment of a lot. Instead, to set a lot assignment, the players have to edit the community lot and place the required objects in order to set the lot assignment. The lot assignments below have ascending priority order, so if a lot meets the requirements of an art gallery, it will not be considered a pool no matter how many swimming pools are on the lot:
 * 1) Empty - none
 * 2) Fishing spot - 1 fishing spawner
 * 3) Small park - 3 park objects
 * 4) Big park - 12 park objects
 * 5) Beach - 1 beach object
 * 6) Pool - 1 swimming pool
 * 7) Art gallery - 16 paintings and sculptures in total
 * 8) Library - 12 bookshelves
 * 9) Gym - 4 gym objects
 * 10) Graveyard - 4 tombstones and 1 mausoleum
 * 11) Rabbit hole lot - any rabbit holes other than mausoleum

As of patch 1.12, the option to set the lot assignment to any lots are available on Edit Town mode. The default lot assignment of a community lot is No Visitors Allowed, but prior to patch 1.12, the default is empty / blank. This is noticeable as some lots in Sunset Valley have no lot assignment. Different lot assignments attract different kind of Sims by their traits and skills, lot density, and whether or not celebrities might visit. Some lots could be a hotspot or a dead zone, where the lot would be deemed to have either higher or lower visitor density. In the full moon, the density of a lot will also increase.

Certain lot assignments are only available in certain sub-neighborhoods, such as market, and some lot assignments are hidden and only available in the Create a World or by unlocking them with  cheat. Lot assignments control what opportunities, gigs, or interactions are available. For example, some Mixology bar drinks are only available in certain lot assignments.

Residential
Residential is one of the two primary lot categories. Sims can live on residential lots.

Assignments in the residential category

 * Apartment lot (Home world only)
 * Non-Player Sims Only lot (Adventure destination only)
 * Ownable lot (Adventure destination and future world only)
 * Private lot (CAW only)
 * Regular lot

Community
Community is one of the two primary lot categories. Community lots serve a variety of purposes.

Assignments in the community category

 * Base game
 * Art gallery
 * Beach
 * Big park
 * Fishing spot
 * Graveyard
 * Library
 * Gym
 * No visitors allowed (unassigned, NPCs will not visit unless invited)
 * Pool
 * Small park
 * Visitors allowed (unassigned, NPCs will visit)


 * World Adventures
 * Academy
 * Base camp (Adventure destination only)
 * Chinese garden
 * Hidden tomb (Hidden/CAW)
 * Landmark tomb (Adventure destination only)
 * Market (Adventure destination only)
 * Nectary
 * Small market (Adventure destination only)


 * Ambitions
 * Consignment store
 * Fire station
 * Hangout
 * Junkyard
 * Junkyard with no visitors
 * Laundromat
 * Salon


 * Late Night
 * Dance club
 * Disco club
 * Dive bar
 * Exclusive lounge
 * Fusion lounge
 * Local watering hole
 * Poolside club
 * Sports bar
 * Vampire lounge


 * Pets
 * Cat jungle
 * Dog park
 * Equestrian center
 * Horse ranch
 * Pet store (requires Pet Shop register object)
 * Dive bar criminal (Hidden)


 * Showtime
 * Big show venue
 * Coffeehouse
 * Live show venue
 * Private venue


 * Supernatural
 * Elixir consignment store
 * Supernatural hangout


 * Seasons
 * Festival grounds


 * University Life
 * Arcade
 * Java hut
 * Dormitory (University world only)
 * Fraternity (University world only)
 * Group science park (University world only)
 * Nerd shop
 * Rebel hangout
 * Sorority (University world only)
 * Student union
 * University hangout


 * Island Paradise
 * Diving area (Hidden/CAW)
 * Port
 * Resort


 * Into the Future
 * Base camp (Future world only)
 * Bot emporium
 * Business park
 * Cafeteria
 * Dried up beach
 * Future lounge
 * Gallery shop
 * Plumbot competition arena
 * Recreational park (Future world only)
 * Wasteland

Assignments set by rabbit holes
These lot types are available in CAW but they are only assigned to the rabbit holes.
 * Big shop (used by grocery rabbit hole)
 * Day spa
 * City hall
 * Criminal hideout (used by abandoned warehouse rabbit hole)
 * Hospital
 * Military base
 * Police station (used by police department rabbit hole)
 * Restaurant (used by the diner and bistro rabbit hole)
 * Science lab
 * Small shop (use by bookstore rabbit hole)
 * Stadium
 * Theater
 * Equestrian center
 * Arboretum
 * Gypsy wagon
 * Mausoleum
 * Vault of Antiquity
 * Stellar observatory
 * ZEPHYR stop

Map Tags
Map tags in The Sims 3 are clickable, interactive buttons that spring up from the birds-eye view when in Map View. Map tags can relate to a variety of lots and Sims. Map tags also generate for opportunities and adventures. Community lot tags are a deep blue color. A lighter blue tag represents a player's selected sim's place of work (exception with professions and certain careers). Lighter, cyan colored tags usually represent a specified rabbit hole, specifically places a sim may work. A green tag represents the player's household he is currently playing. If there is a PlumbBob above the map tag, a player's selected sim is at that current location (for example if the sims is in the theatre it will show a plumbob above the theatre tag). Bright, vibrant tags represent opportunites involving opportunites, professions (see The Sims 3: Ambitions), or actions that are not particularlly related to game play such as Neighborhood Pet Adoption (see The Sims 3: Pets). Less bright orange tags represent another sims' dwelling. These map tags only appear when a player's selected sim has met a sim of the household. Red tags represent commercial areas such as schools, bistros, diners, subways (see The Sims 3: Late Night), jails, and grocery stores. Enabling the  cheat will make the map tags flash colorfully when viewed from the map view.

The Sims 4
In The Sims 4, a lot requires certain objects in order to determine its lot assignment properly. The presence of the objects cause NPCs such as bartenders to appear on the lot. There are currently twelve default lot types.

Normal Lot Types Hidden Lot Types Mod Lot Types
 * Residential
 * Generic
 * Bar
 * Gym
 * Library
 * Lounge
 * Museum
 * Nightclub
 * Park
 * Rental
 * National Park
 * Retail
 * Hidden Lot
 * Hospital
 * Police Department
 * Science Lab
 * Elementary School
 * High School