Community lot

A Community Lot is a public lot which serves as the basis for commercial or recreational buildings/facilities in a neighborhood, such as shops, parks, etc. These lots often provide important services for a neighborhood, such as selling clothes, groceries, and magazines; and providing gathering places and entertainment. Townies and playable Sims alike often appear on community lots to browse the goods, socialize or just hang around, so community lots are great places for Sims to make friends. Some (commercial only) objects can only be placed on community lots, and likewise some objects can only be placed on residential lots. As a rule, Sims cannot build skills on community lots, but university students can build skills on campus community lots.

In the Open For Business expansion pack, playable Sims can buy community lots and establish businesses on them, as an alternative to running a home business.