diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b51758c..f57038f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -50,14 +50,45 @@ road everywhere sheds it slowly. Cross a threshold and the road escalates:
 
 `Clear → Patrol → Barricade → Turret`
 
-- **Patrol** parks a vehicle on the verge. The road narrows.
-- **Barricade** puts concrete across it, leaving a gap you have to slow for.
-- **Turret** adds a tower overlooking the checkpoint.
+- **Patrol** sends a car to work the road for a while, which cools it back down.
+- **Barricade** sends an engineer to pour concrete across it, leaving a gap you
+  have to slow for.
+- **Turret** sends another to put up a tower, and a gunner to man it.
+
+None of that appears on its own — see [A world with people in it](#a-world-with-people-in-it).
 
 Roughly four traversals take a road from clear to turret; an untouched road
 cools off in about four minutes. Both numbers are in `sim/heat.ts` and both are
 guesses meant to be tuned.
 
+### District heat
+
+Roads remember being used. Districts remember *you*.
+
+Road heat alone rewards a strange kind of play: work one part of town hard but
+take a different street every time, and nothing ever gets hot. So there is a
+second, coarser pool. Every metre you cover inside a district raises its
+standing — on-road or off, whether or not you touch a road at all — and that
+bleeds into every road running through it, including ones you have never driven.
+
+- It **accrues from being there**, so cutting across country is not a loophole.
+- It **cannot fortify a road on its own** (`AREA_INFLUENCE` sits below the
+  barricade threshold). A hot district gets roads patrolled; concrete still
+  takes somebody actually using that road.
+- It **outlasts road heat**. A road is re-secured by one patrol; a district's
+  reputation takes far longer to fade.
+
+### Speed is conspicuous
+
+Heat scales with how fast you were going, not just how far. A car at walking
+pace is traffic; a car doing ninety through a checkpointed district is the thing
+people phone in. Roughly a 2.2× spread between crawling and flat out, and it
+stops rewarding ever-higher speed past a point so the answer is never one exact
+number on the clock.
+
+Together with the road classes this is the real routing decision: the trunk fast
+and noticed, or the lanes slow and ignored.
+
 ### The road hierarchy
 
 Roads are not all the same road:
@@ -96,6 +127,15 @@ while leaving most of the map genuinely off-route. Widening it backfires: make
 the corridor too generous and heat becomes unavoidable everywhere, and "take a
 different route" stops being a choice at all.
 
+### Tarmac versus everything else
+
+Roads have to be worth using, or the hierarchy above is decoration. Off the
+route the car makes about 40% of its road top speed, loses grip, and scrubs off
+momentum in a fifth of the distance. It is a real cost, deliberately not a wall:
+going around a checkpoint cross-country is a legitimate move, and an earlier
+tuning that made off-road a 12 km/h crawl removed the choice rather than pricing
+it.
+
 ### Buildings, and why they are dense
 
 Off-road used to be open country, which made every barricade optional — you just
@@ -107,13 +147,9 @@ free detour at speed.
 
 ### Other deliberate choices
 
-- **No AI yet.** The props are stationary hazards. Escalation currently means the
-  road gets slower and more expensive to get wrong, which is enough to test the
-  phase's real question.
-- **Changes never happen on the road you are on.** They are deferred until you
-  leave. Otherwise a barricade would spawn a static collider inside your car —
-  and you are supposed to discover escalation by *coming back*, not by watching
-  it assemble behind you.
+- **Concrete never closes around the car standing in the gap.** A block spawning
+  on top of you would put a static collider inside the chassis, so the last slab
+  waits until you move.
 - **A checkpoint's position is seeded from its segment**, so a given stretch of
   road always fortifies in the same place. Recognising it is part of learning
   the map.
diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index 312037c..b0108a7 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import * as THREE from 'three';
 import { generateWorld } from './sim/world';
-import { applyWear, deriveHandling, freshCondition, repair } from './sim/car';
-import { createHeat, stepHeat } from './sim/heat';
+import { applyWear, deriveHandling, freshCondition, repair, surfaceFor } from './sim/car';
+import { areaAt, createAreas, createHeat, effectiveHeat, speedAttention, stepHeat } from './sim/heat';
 import { ROAD_ATTENTION, routeAt, segmentAt } from './sim/roads';
 import { baseAt, placeBases } from './sim/bases';
 import { buildGraph } from './sim/routing';
@@ -93,7 +93,8 @@ async function boot() {
   const hud = createHud(seed);
   const board = createBoard();
   const driveState = createDriveState();
-  const heat = createHeat(model.roads);
+  const areas = createAreas(model.roads, model.extent);
+  const heat = createHeat(model.roads, areas);
   const heatProps = createHeatProps(model.roads, physics, view.scene);
   const intel = createIntel(model.roads, model.extent);
   const quests = createQuests();
@@ -184,7 +185,12 @@ async function boot() {
   };
 
   // --- Persistence ---
-  const persistence = createPersistence(seed, model.roads.segments.length, intel.explored.length);
+  const persistence = createPersistence(
+    seed,
+    model.roads.segments.length,
+    intel.explored.length,
+    heat.area.length,
+  );
 
   const snapshot = (): Snapshot => {
     const t = physics.chassis.translation();
@@ -287,7 +293,9 @@ async function boot() {
       if (cmd.respawn && !respawnLatch) physics.respawn();
       respawnLatch = cmd.respawn;
 
-      drive(physics, driveState, cmd, deriveHandling(condition), dt);
+      // Tarmac or open ground — decided last step, since the road lookup needs
+      // a position and the car has not moved yet this one.
+      drive(physics, driveState, cmd, deriveHandling(condition), dt, surfaceFor(currentSegment !== null));
       physics.step(dt);
       captureChassis();
 
@@ -320,19 +328,21 @@ async function boot() {
       const heatChanged = stepHeat(heat, {
           dt,
           segmentId: currentSegment,
+          areaId: areaAt(areas, at.x, at.z),
           distance,
           // Who holds the ground, times how conspicuous this class of road is.
           // A farm track behind the lines costs nothing; a trunk past the front
           // is the most watched thing you can drive on.
           accrual:
             HEAT_MULTIPLIER[control] *
+            speedAttention(speed) *
             (currentSegment === null
               ? 1
               : ROAD_ATTENTION[model.roads.segments[currentSegment]!.cls]),
           // Each road decays according to whoever holds *it*, not whoever holds
           // the ground the car happens to be standing on.
           decayFor: (id) => DECAY_MULTIPLIER[segmentControl[id]!],
-      });
+      }, areas);
       heatProps.sync({ x: at.x, z: at.z });
 
       // Escalation is entirely something the enemy has to *do*. Every level
@@ -663,7 +673,8 @@ async function boot() {
         heat: {
           segmentId: currentSegment,
           onTarmac,
-          value: currentSegment === null ? 0 : heat.value[currentSegment]!,
+          value: currentSegment === null ? 0 : effectiveHeat(heat, areas, currentSegment),
+          area: heat.area[areaAt(areas, p.x, p.z) ?? 0] ?? 0,
           level: currentSegment === null ? null : heat.level[currentSegment]!,
         },
         quest:
@@ -699,7 +710,7 @@ async function boot() {
       view,
       physics,
       // Live state, so a script can find something interesting and go look at it.
-      state: { units, combat, heat, intel, quests, front, model, bases },
+      state: { units, combat, heat, areas, intel, quests, front, model, bases },
       teleport(x, z) {
         physics.chassis.setTranslation({ x, y: 1.4, z }, true);
         physics.chassis.setLinvel({ x: 0, y: 0, z: 0 }, true);
diff --git a/src/persistence.ts b/src/persistence.ts
index f2a69e5..ffeb933 100644
--- a/src/persistence.ts
+++ b/src/persistence.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ export const AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL = 20;
 
 const keyFor = (seed: number) => `dbtl.save.${seed}`;
 
-export function createPersistence(seed: number, segments: number, cells: number) {
+export function createPersistence(seed: number, segments: number, cells: number, areas: number) {
   let lastSave = 0;
   let failed = false;
 
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ export function createPersistence(seed: number, segments: number, cells: number)
         const raw = localStorage.getItem(keyFor(seed));
         if (!raw) return null;
         const data: unknown = JSON.parse(raw);
-        if (!isLoadable(data, seed, segments, cells)) {
+        if (!isLoadable(data, seed, segments, cells, areas)) {
           // A save from an older format or an older world generator. Dropping
           // it is correct — restoring half of it would be worse.
           localStorage.removeItem(keyFor(seed));
diff --git a/src/physics/drive.ts b/src/physics/drive.ts
index aec790e..372e0c2 100644
--- a/src/physics/drive.ts
+++ b/src/physics/drive.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { DriverInput } from '../core/input';
-import type { Handling } from '../sim/car';
+import { TARMAC, type Handling, type Surface } from '../sim/car';
 import type { PhysicsWorld } from './physics';
 import { WHEELS } from '../carSpec';
 
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ export function drive(
   input: DriverInput,
   handling: Handling,
   dt: number,
+  surface: Surface = TARMAC,
 ): void {
   const { vehicle } = physics;
   const speed = vehicle.currentVehicleSpeed();
@@ -54,13 +55,16 @@ export function drive(
   // Throttle vs. brake: pressing back while rolling forward is braking, not reverse.
   const wantsReverse = input.throttle < 0;
   const braking = input.handbrake || (wantsReverse && speed > 1) || (input.throttle > 0 && speed < -1);
-  const engineForce = braking ? 0 : input.throttle * handling.engineForce;
+  // Off the tarmac the engine is fighting the ground for traction.
+  const engineForce = braking ? 0 : input.throttle * handling.engineForce * surface.drive;
 
   let brakeForce: number;
   if (input.handbrake) brakeForce = handling.brakeForce * 1.6;
   else if (braking) brakeForce = handling.brakeForce;
   else if (input.throttle === 0) brakeForce = handling.coastBrake;
   else brakeForce = 0;
+  // Rough ground drags on you whether or not you are asking it to.
+  brakeForce += handling.coastBrake * surface.drag;
 
   // At a crawl with no throttle, hold the car still instead of letting it creep.
   // Otherwise "stop the car" for a mission is a fight against a rolling wreck.
@@ -74,7 +78,7 @@ export function drive(
     vehicle.setWheelEngineForce(i, w.driven ? engineForce : 0);
     // Handbrake locks the rear only — that is where the rotation comes from.
     vehicle.setWheelBrake(i, input.handbrake && w.steered ? 0 : brakeForce);
-    vehicle.setWheelFrictionSlip(i, handling.frictionSlip);
-    vehicle.setWheelSideFrictionStiffness(i, handling.sideFrictionStiffness);
+    vehicle.setWheelFrictionSlip(i, handling.frictionSlip * surface.grip);
+    vehicle.setWheelSideFrictionStiffness(i, handling.sideFrictionStiffness * surface.grip);
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/physics/physics.test.ts b/src/physics/physics.test.ts
index 349633f..e8e1cc5 100644
--- a/src/physics/physics.test.ts
+++ b/src/physics/physics.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,14 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { createPhysics } from './physics';
 import { createDriveState, drive } from './drive';
-import { deriveHandling, freshCondition } from '../sim/car';
+import {
+  deriveHandling,
+  freshCondition,
+  ROUGH,
+  surfaceFor,
+  TARMAC,
+  type Surface,
+} from '../sim/car';
 import type { DriverInput } from '../core/input';
 import { generateWorld } from '../sim/world';
 
@@ -170,6 +177,41 @@ describe('taking a junction', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('roads are worth using', () => {
+  /** Flat out on a given surface for long enough to find its ceiling. */
+  async function topSpeed(surface: Surface) {
+    const physics = await createPhysics(generateWorld(1, 0));
+    const state = createDriveState();
+    const handling = deriveHandling(freshCondition());
+    let top = 0;
+    for (let i = 0; i < 30 / STEP; i++) {
+      drive(physics, state, { ...IDLE, throttle: 1 }, handling, STEP, surface);
+      physics.step(STEP);
+      top = Math.max(top, physics.vehicle.currentVehicleSpeed());
+    }
+    return top;
+  }
+
+  it('goes markedly faster on tarmac than across country', async () => {
+    const road = await topSpeed(TARMAC);
+    const rough = await topSpeed(ROUGH);
+    expect(rough).toBeLessThan(road * 0.6);
+  });
+
+  it('still lets you leave the road when you need to', async () => {
+    // Going around a checkpoint cross-country has to cost something without
+    // being impossible. An earlier tuning made off-road a 12 km/h crawl, which
+    // is not a decision — it is a wall.
+    const rough = await topSpeed(ROUGH);
+    expect(rough).toBeGreaterThan(12);
+  });
+
+  it('is chosen by whether the car is on a route at all', () => {
+    expect(surfaceFor(true)).toBe(TARMAC);
+    expect(surfaceFor(false)).toBe(ROUGH);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('vehicle', () => {
   it('settles on its suspension instead of sinking or bouncing away', async () => {
     const r = await run({}, 2);
diff --git a/src/sim/car.ts b/src/sim/car.ts
index e80afd9..1ac9c21 100644
--- a/src/sim/car.ts
+++ b/src/sim/car.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,35 @@ export function deriveHandling(c: CarCondition): Handling {
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * What the surface under the wheels does to the car.
+ *
+ * Roads have to be worth using. Without this the tarmac is decorative — you can
+ * cut any corner across country at full speed, which makes both the route
+ * corridor and the whole road hierarchy pointless.
+ */
+export interface Surface {
+  /** Share of engine force that reaches the road. */
+  drive: number;
+  /** Extra braking from rough ground, as a share of the coast brake. */
+  drag: number;
+  /** Grip multiplier. */
+  grip: number;
+}
+
+export const TARMAC: Surface = { drive: 1, drag: 0, grip: 1 };
+/**
+ * Rubble, verges and open country: slower, draggier, looser.
+ *
+ * Tuned so off-road tops out around a third of road speed. It has to *cost*
+ * something without being impossible — going around a checkpoint cross-country
+ * is a legitimate move, and the first numbers here made it a 12 km/h crawl,
+ * which is not a choice, it is a wall.
+ */
+export const ROUGH: Surface = { drive: 0.55, drag: 0.45, grip: 0.8 };
+
+export const surfaceFor = (onRoute: boolean): Surface => (onRoute ? TARMAC : ROUGH);
+
 export interface WearInput {
   /** Seconds of simulated time. */
   dt: number;
diff --git a/src/sim/heat.test.ts b/src/sim/heat.test.ts
index d79f8f5..58079bd 100644
--- a/src/sim/heat.test.ts
+++ b/src/sim/heat.test.ts
@@ -8,10 +8,20 @@ import {
   projectOntoSegment,
   catchmentOf,
 } from './roads';
-import { createHeat, levelFor, propsFor, stepHeat, type HeatState } from './heat';
+import {
+  createAreas,
+  createHeat,
+  effectiveHeat,
+  levelFor,
+  propsFor,
+  speedAttention,
+  stepHeat,
+  type HeatState,
+} from './heat';
 import { generateWorld } from './world';
 
 const roads = generateRoads(99, 220);
+const areas = createAreas(roads, 220);
 
 describe('road network', () => {
   it('is reproducible and connected', () => {
@@ -73,8 +83,8 @@ describe('route catchment', () => {
   });
 
   it('accrues heat at the same rate on the verge as on the tarmac', () => {
-    const onRoad = createHeat(roads);
-    const onVerge = createHeat(roads);
+    const onRoad = createHeat(roads, areas);
+    const onVerge = createHeat(roads, areas);
     const centre = pointOnSegment(s, 0.5, 0);
     const verge = beside(s.width / 2 + 2);
     for (let m = 0; m < 200; m++) {
@@ -82,12 +92,12 @@ describe('route catchment', () => {
         dt: 1 / 60,
         segmentId: routeAt(roads, centre.x, centre.z)!.id,
         distance: 1,
-      });
+       areaId: null,}, areas);
       stepHeat(onVerge, {
         dt: 1 / 60,
         segmentId: routeAt(roads, verge.x, verge.z)!.id,
         distance: 1,
-      });
+       areaId: null,}, areas);
     }
     // No discount for hugging the shoulder — that is the whole point.
     expect(onVerge.value[s.id]).toBeCloseTo(onRoad.value[s.id]!, 10);
@@ -110,17 +120,17 @@ function simulate(state: HeatState, segmentId: number, metres: number, idleSecon
   const changed: number[] = [];
   const stepMetres = 1;
   for (let m = 0; m < metres; m += stepMetres) {
-    changed.push(...stepHeat(state, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId, distance: stepMetres }));
+    changed.push(...stepHeat(state, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId, distance: stepMetres , areaId: null}, areas));
   }
   for (let i = 0; i < idleSeconds * 60; i++) {
-    changed.push(...stepHeat(state, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: null, distance: 0 }));
+    changed.push(...stepHeat(state, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: null, areaId: null, distance: 0 }, areas));
   }
   return changed;
 }
 
 describe('heat', () => {
   it('escalates through every level as a road is reused', () => {
-    const state = createHeat(roads);
+    const state = createHeat(roads, areas);
     const seen: string[] = [];
     for (let trip = 0; trip < 6; trip++) {
       simulate(state, 0, 80);
@@ -132,14 +142,14 @@ describe('heat', () => {
   });
 
   it('leaves unused roads alone', () => {
-    const state = createHeat(roads);
+    const state = createHeat(roads, areas);
     simulate(state, 0, 300);
     expect(state.value[0]).toBeGreaterThan(0.5);
     expect(state.value[1]).toBe(0);
   });
 
   it('cools a road that goes unused', () => {
-    const state = createHeat(roads);
+    const state = createHeat(roads, areas);
     simulate(state, 0, 300);
     const hot = state.value[0]!;
     simulate(state, 1, 0, 120);
@@ -147,14 +157,14 @@ describe('heat', () => {
   });
 
   it('does not flap between levels while hovering on a threshold', () => {
-    const state = createHeat(roads);
+    const state = createHeat(roads, areas);
     // Park heat just above the patrol threshold, then hold it there.
     simulate(state, 0, 90);
     expect(state.level[0]).toBe('patrol');
     let flips = 0;
     for (let i = 0; i < 600; i++) {
       // Roughly cancel the decay, so heat sits on the boundary.
-      const changed = stepHeat(state, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: 0, distance: 0.022 });
+      const changed = stepHeat(state, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: 0, areaId: null, distance: 0.022 }, areas);
       flips += changed.length;
     }
     expect(flips).toBe(0);
@@ -216,3 +226,97 @@ describe('heat props', () => {
     }
   });
 });
+
+describe('area heat', () => {
+  const wide = generateWorld(1337);
+  const wideAreas = createAreas(wide.roads, wide.extent);
+
+  /** Sits in one district for a while without using any particular road. */
+  const loiter = (state: HeatState, areaId: number, metres: number) => {
+    for (let m = 0; m < metres; m++) {
+      stepHeat(state, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: null, areaId, distance: 1 }, wideAreas);
+    }
+  };
+
+  it('accrues from being somewhere, not from using a road', () => {
+    const state = createHeat(wide.roads, wideAreas);
+    const areaId = wideAreas.ofSegment[0]![0]!;
+
+    loiter(state, areaId, 1500);
+    // That road was never driven; the district still noticed you.
+    expect(state.value[0]).toBe(0);
+    expect(state.area[areaId]).toBeGreaterThan(0.5);
+  });
+
+  it('bleeds into roads through the district that were never driven', () => {
+    const state = createHeat(wide.roads, wideAreas);
+    const areaId = wideAreas.ofSegment[0]![0]!;
+
+    loiter(state, areaId, 2000);
+    // Closes the loophole: working one district over while taking a different
+    // street every time used to cost nothing at all.
+    expect(effectiveHeat(state, wideAreas, 0)).toBeGreaterThan(0.25);
+    expect(state.level[0]).not.toBe('clear');
+  });
+
+  it('leaves roads in other districts alone', () => {
+    const state = createHeat(wide.roads, wideAreas);
+    const here = wideAreas.ofSegment[0]![0]!;
+    loiter(state, here, 2000);
+
+    const elsewhere = wide.roads.segments.find(
+      (s) => !wideAreas.ofSegment[s.id]!.includes(here),
+    )!;
+    expect(effectiveHeat(state, wideAreas, elsewhere.id)).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('cannot fortify a road on its own', () => {
+    const state = createHeat(wide.roads, wideAreas);
+    const areaId = wideAreas.ofSegment[0]![0]!;
+    loiter(state, areaId, 6000);
+    expect(state.area[areaId]).toBe(1);
+    // A hot district gets roads patrolled. Concrete still takes real use.
+    expect(effectiveHeat(state, wideAreas, 0)).toBeLessThan(0.55);
+  });
+
+  it('outlasts road heat once you have gone', () => {
+    const state = createHeat(wide.roads, wideAreas);
+    const areaId = wideAreas.ofSegment[0]![0]!;
+    loiter(state, areaId, 1200);
+    state.value[0] = state.area[areaId]!;
+
+    for (let i = 0; i < 60 * 200; i++) {
+      stepHeat(state, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: null, areaId: null, distance: 0 }, wideAreas);
+    }
+    // A road is re-secured by one patrol; a district's reputation lingers.
+    expect(state.area[areaId]).toBeGreaterThan(state.value[0]!);
+  });
+
+  it('is not earned behind your own lines either', () => {
+    const state = createHeat(wide.roads, wideAreas);
+    const areaId = wideAreas.ofSegment[0]![0]!;
+    for (let m = 0; m < 3000; m++) {
+      stepHeat(
+        state,
+        { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: null, areaId, distance: 1, accrual: 0 },
+        wideAreas,
+      );
+    }
+    expect(state.area[areaId]).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('speed draws attention', () => {
+  it('counts a fast pass for more than a slow one', () => {
+    expect(speedAttention(30)).toBeGreaterThan(speedAttention(5));
+  });
+
+  it('still counts crawling past for something', () => {
+    expect(speedAttention(0)).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it('stops rewarding ever-higher speed past a point', () => {
+    // Otherwise the only strategy is to hold one exact number on the clock.
+    expect(speedAttention(200)).toBe(speedAttention(100));
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/sim/heat.ts b/src/sim/heat.ts
index ad606c7..9cae0f7 100644
--- a/src/sim/heat.ts
+++ b/src/sim/heat.ts
@@ -27,25 +27,119 @@ const HYSTERESIS = 0.08;
 
 /** Metres of driving that add a full point of heat. ~4 traversals to turret. */
 const METRES_PER_HEAT = 330;
+/**
+ * How much being quick draws attention, on top of being present.
+ *
+ * A car at walking pace is traffic. A car doing ninety through a checkpointed
+ * district is the thing people phone in. This is what makes "take the lanes
+ * slowly" a real alternative to "take the trunk fast" rather than a pure loss.
+ */
+const SPEED_ATTENTION_REFERENCE = 22;
+export const speedAttention = (speed: number): number =>
+  0.55 + 0.45 * Math.min(2, Math.abs(speed) / SPEED_ATTENTION_REFERENCE);
 /** Heat shed per second everywhere. A hot road cools in roughly four minutes. */
 const DECAY_PER_SECOND = 0.004;
 
 /** Half the width of the opening left in a barricade. The car is 1.8m wide. */
 const GAP_HALF_WIDTH = 2.1;
 
-export interface HeatState {
-  /** Indexed by segment id. */
-  value: number[];
-  level: HeatLevel[];
+// --- Areas ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/**
+ * Districts, for heat that is about a *place* rather than a road.
+ *
+ * Road heat alone rewards a strange kind of play: work one district hard, but
+ * take a different street each time, and nothing ever gets hot. In reality the
+ * problem is that you keep turning up in this part of town at all. Area heat is
+ * that — it accumulates wherever you are, on-road or off, and then bleeds into
+ * every road running through the district, including ones you have never used.
+ */
+const AREA_SIZE = 110;
+/** Metres of driving inside a district that add a full point of its heat. */
+const METRES_PER_AREA_HEAT = 1500;
+/** Districts cool slower than roads: a reputation outlasts a patrol. */
+const AREA_DECAY_PER_SECOND = 0.0022;
+/**
+ * How much a fully hot district contributes to the roads through it. Below the
+ * barricade threshold on purpose — a hot district alone gets a road patrolled,
+ * but fortifying it still takes somebody actually using that road.
+ */
+const AREA_INFLUENCE = 0.45;
+
+export interface HeatAreas {
+  /** Cells per side. */
+  cells: number;
+  /** World coordinate of the grid's lower corner. */
+  origin: number;
+  /** Area cell ids each segment passes through. */
+  ofSegment: number[][];
 }
 
-export function createHeat(roads: RoadNetwork): HeatState {
+export function createAreas(roads: RoadNetwork, extent: number): HeatAreas {
+  const origin = -(extent + 60);
+  const cells = Math.ceil((-origin * 2) / AREA_SIZE);
+  const index = (x: number, z: number): number | null => {
+    const col = Math.floor((x - origin) / AREA_SIZE);
+    const row = Math.floor((z - origin) / AREA_SIZE);
+    if (col < 0 || row < 0 || col >= cells || row >= cells) return null;
+    return row * cells + col;
+  };
+
+  // Walk each road and note every district it crosses, so a hot district
+  // reaches the roads through it however they happen to be laid out.
+  const ofSegment = roads.segments.map((s) => {
+    const found = new Set<number>();
+    const steps = Math.max(2, Math.ceil(s.length / 20));
+    for (let i = 0; i <= steps; i++) {
+      const t = i / steps;
+      const cell = index(s.ax + (s.bx - s.ax) * t, s.az + (s.bz - s.az) * t);
+      if (cell !== null) found.add(cell);
+    }
+    return [...found];
+  });
+
+  return { cells, origin, ofSegment };
+}
+
+export function areaAt(areas: HeatAreas, x: number, z: number): number | null {
+  const col = Math.floor((x - areas.origin) / AREA_SIZE);
+  const row = Math.floor((z - areas.origin) / AREA_SIZE);
+  if (col < 0 || row < 0 || col >= areas.cells || row >= areas.cells) return null;
+  return row * areas.cells + col;
+}
+
+export interface HeatState {
+  /** Indexed by segment id: heat earned by using that road. */
+  value: number[];
+  level: HeatLevel[];
+  /** Indexed by area cell: heat earned by being in that district at all. */
+  area: number[];
+}
+
+export function createHeat(roads: RoadNetwork, areas: HeatAreas): HeatState {
   return {
     value: new Array(roads.segments.length).fill(0),
     level: new Array(roads.segments.length).fill('clear'),
+    area: new Array(areas.cells * areas.cells).fill(0),
   };
 }
 
+/** The worst district a road runs through, as a contribution to its heat. */
+export function areaInfluence(state: HeatState, areas: HeatAreas, segmentId: number): number {
+  let worst = 0;
+  for (const cell of areas.ofSegment[segmentId] ?? []) {
+    worst = Math.max(worst, state.area[cell] ?? 0);
+  }
+  return worst * AREA_INFLUENCE;
+}
+
+/**
+ * What the enemy actually reacts to: this road's own history plus the standing
+ * of the district it runs through.
+ */
+export const effectiveHeat = (state: HeatState, areas: HeatAreas, segmentId: number): number =>
+  Math.min(1, state.value[segmentId]! + areaInfluence(state, areas, segmentId));
+
 export function levelFor(heat: number, current: HeatLevel): HeatLevel {
   const rank = HEAT_LEVELS.indexOf(current);
   let next: HeatLevel = 'clear';
@@ -62,6 +156,8 @@ export interface HeatStep {
   dt: number;
   /** Segment the car is on right now, or null if off-road. */
   segmentId: number | null;
+  /** District the car is in, on-road or not. */
+  areaId: number | null;
   /** Metres travelled this step. */
   distance: number;
   /**
@@ -74,17 +170,27 @@ export interface HeatStep {
 }
 
 /** Advances heat and returns the segments whose *level* changed. */
-export function stepHeat(state: HeatState, step: HeatStep): number[] {
+export function stepHeat(state: HeatState, step: HeatStep, areas: HeatAreas): number[] {
   const changed: number[] = [];
   const accrual = step.accrual ?? 1;
 
+  // Districts first: roads read from them, so they have to be current.
+  const areaDecay = AREA_DECAY_PER_SECOND * step.dt;
+  for (let cell = 0; cell < state.area.length; cell++) {
+    let value = state.area[cell]! - areaDecay;
+    // Being here at all counts, whether or not you are on a road.
+    if (cell === step.areaId) value += (step.distance / METRES_PER_AREA_HEAT) * accrual;
+    state.area[cell] = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, value));
+  }
+
   for (let id = 0; id < state.value.length; id++) {
     let heat = state.value[id]! - DECAY_PER_SECOND * step.dt * (step.decayFor?.(id) ?? 1);
     if (id === step.segmentId) heat += (step.distance / METRES_PER_HEAT) * accrual;
-    heat = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, heat));
-    state.value[id] = heat;
+    state.value[id] = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, heat));
 
-    const next = levelFor(heat, state.level[id]!);
+    // The level reacts to the road *and* the district around it, so working one
+    // area over on a different street each time still gets it noticed.
+    const next = levelFor(effectiveHeat(state, areas, id), state.level[id]!);
     if (next !== state.level[id]) {
       state.level[id] = next;
       changed.push(id);
diff --git a/src/sim/quests.test.ts b/src/sim/quests.test.ts
index 5664e2f..a0c1277 100644
--- a/src/sim/quests.test.ts
+++ b/src/sim/quests.test.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { generateWorld } from './world';
 import { placeBases, baseAt } from './bases';
 import { buildGraph, findRoute } from './routing';
 import { createIntel, observe, summariseRoute, survey, hasSeen } from './intel';
-import { createHeat, stepHeat } from './heat';
+import { createAreas, createHeat, stepHeat } from './heat';
 import {
   accept,
   createQuests,
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import {
 const world = generateWorld(1337);
 const graph = buildGraph(world.roads);
 const bases = placeBases(world.roads, world.spawn);
+const areas = createAreas(world.roads, world.extent);
 
 describe('bases', () => {
   it('puts one where the player starts, so the loop is available at once', () => {
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ describe('routing', () => {
 describe('intel', () => {
   it('starts blank and only records what was observed', () => {
     const intel = createIntel(world.roads, world.extent);
-    const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+    const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
     expect(hasSeen(intel, 4)).toBe(false);
     observe(intel, heat, 4, 10);
     expect(hasSeen(intel, 4)).toBe(true);
@@ -89,11 +90,11 @@ describe('intel', () => {
 
   it('remembers what a road was, not what it has since become', () => {
     const intel = createIntel(world.roads, world.extent);
-    const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+    const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
     observe(intel, heat, 0, 0);
     expect(intel.rememberedLevel[0]).toBe('clear');
 
-    for (let m = 0; m < 400; m++) stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: 0, distance: 1 });
+    for (let m = 0; m < 400; m++) stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: 0, distance: 1 , areaId: null}, areas);
     expect(heat.level[0]).toBe('turret');
     // The player was not there to see it escalate.
     expect(intel.rememberedLevel[0]).toBe('clear');
@@ -101,7 +102,7 @@ describe('intel', () => {
 
   it('surveys a whole area at once, which is what recon is for', () => {
     const intel = createIntel(world.roads, world.extent);
-    const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+    const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
     const node = world.roads.nodes[24]!;
     const mapped = survey(intel, heat, world.roads, node.x, node.z, 5);
     expect(mapped).toBeGreaterThan(1);
@@ -110,13 +111,13 @@ describe('intel', () => {
 
   it('summarises a route by its worst road and how much is unscouted', () => {
     const intel = createIntel(world.roads, world.extent);
-    const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+    const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
     const route = findRoute(graph, bases[0]!.nodeId, bases[1]!.nodeId)!;
 
     expect(summariseRoute(intel, route.segments, 0).unknownCount).toBe(route.segments.length);
 
     for (let m = 0; m < 400; m++) {
-      stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: route.segments[0]!, distance: 1 });
+      stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: route.segments[0]!, distance: 1 , areaId: null}, areas);
     }
     for (const id of route.segments) observe(intel, heat, id, 100);
 
diff --git a/src/sim/regions.test.ts b/src/sim/regions.test.ts
index 448e085..8382936 100644
--- a/src/sim/regions.test.ts
+++ b/src/sim/regions.test.ts
@@ -13,11 +13,12 @@ import {
   depthAt,
   stepFront,
 } from './regions';
-import { createHeat, stepHeat } from './heat';
+import { createHeat, stepHeat, createAreas } from './heat';
 import { cellIndex, createIntel, isExplored, reveal } from './intel';
 
 const world = generateWorld(1337);
 const front = createFront(1337, world.extent, world.spawn);
+const areas = createAreas(world.roads, world.extent);
 
 describe('front line', () => {
   it('starts the player behind their own line', () => {
@@ -60,14 +61,14 @@ describe('front line', () => {
 
 describe('heat under regional control', () => {
   it('accrues nothing at all behind your own lines', () => {
-    const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+    const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
     for (let m = 0; m < 2000; m++) {
       stepHeat(heat, {
         dt: 1 / 60,
         segmentId: 0,
         distance: 1,
         accrual: HEAT_MULTIPLIER.liberated,
-      });
+       areaId: null,}, areas);
     }
     // Not "a little" — exactly none. Your own back garden never fortifies.
     expect(heat.value[0]).toBe(0);
@@ -76,9 +77,9 @@ describe('heat under regional control', () => {
 
   it('accrues fastest past the front', () => {
     const drive = (accrual: number) => {
-      const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+      const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
       for (let m = 0; m < 200; m++) {
-        stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: 0, distance: 1, accrual });
+        stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: 0, areaId: null, distance: 1, accrual }, areas);
       }
       return heat.value[0]!;
     };
@@ -88,10 +89,10 @@ describe('heat under regional control', () => {
 
   it('lets your own side dismantle a checkpoint faster than the enemy rebuilds', () => {
     const cool = (decay: number) => {
-      const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+      const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
       heat.value[0] = 1;
       for (let i = 0; i < 60 * 60; i++) {
-        stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: null, distance: 0, decayFor: () => decay });
+        stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: null, areaId: null, distance: 0, decayFor: () => decay }, areas);
       }
       return heat.value[0]!;
     };
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ describe('heat under regional control', () => {
   });
 
   it('decays a road by who holds that road, not who holds the car', () => {
-    const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+    const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
     heat.value[0] = 1;
     heat.value[1] = 1;
     for (let i = 0; i < 60 * 30; i++) {
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ describe('heat under regional control', () => {
         segmentId: null,
         distance: 0,
         decayFor: (id) => (id === 0 ? DECAY_MULTIPLIER.liberated : DECAY_MULTIPLIER.frontier),
-      });
+       areaId: null,}, areas);
     }
     expect(heat.value[0]).toBeLessThan(heat.value[1]!);
   });
diff --git a/src/sim/save.test.ts b/src/sim/save.test.ts
index d62920b..acdeda0 100644
--- a/src/sim/save.test.ts
+++ b/src/sim/save.test.ts
@@ -1,23 +1,24 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { generateWorld } from './world';
 import { applyWear, freshCondition } from './car';
-import { createHeat, stepHeat } from './heat';
+import { createHeat, stepHeat, createAreas } from './heat';
 import { createIntel, observe, reveal } from './intel';
 import { applyMissionImpact, controlAt, createFront, stepFront } from './regions';
 import { createQuests } from './quests';
 import { apply, isLoadable, serialise, SAVE_VERSION, type Snapshot } from './save';
 
 const world = generateWorld(1337);
+const areas = createAreas(world.roads, world.extent);
 
 /** A campaign with some history behind it, so a round trip has work to do. */
 function played(): Snapshot {
-  const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+  const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
   const intel = createIntel(world.roads, world.extent);
   const front = createFront(1337, world.extent, world.spawn);
   const quests = createQuests();
   let condition = freshCondition();
 
-  for (let m = 0; m < 400; m++) stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: 2, distance: 1 });
+  for (let m = 0; m < 400; m++) stepHeat(heat, { dt: 1 / 60, segmentId: 2, areaId: null, distance: 1 }, areas);
   for (let i = 0; i < 200; i++) {
     condition = applyWear(condition, { dt: 1 / 60, distance: 3, throttle: 1, impactForce: 3e4 });
   }
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ function blank(): Snapshot {
     elapsed: 0,
     condition: freshCondition(),
     car: { position: [0, 0, 0], rotation: [0, 0, 0, 1], linvel: [0, 0, 0], angvel: [0, 0, 0] },
-    heat: createHeat(world.roads),
+    heat: createHeat(world.roads, areas),
     intel: createIntel(world.roads, world.extent),
     front,
     quests: createQuests(),
@@ -62,7 +63,7 @@ describe('save round trip', () => {
     const source = played();
     const restored = blank();
     const data = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(serialise(source)));
-    expect(isLoadable(data, 1337, world.roads.segments.length, restored.intel.explored.length)).toBe(
+    expect(isLoadable(data, 1337, world.roads.segments.length, restored.intel.explored.length, areas.cells ** 2)).toBe(
       true,
     );
     apply(data, restored);
@@ -135,32 +136,35 @@ describe('save round trip', () => {
 describe('save validation', () => {
   const segments = world.roads.segments.length;
   const cells = createIntel(world.roads, world.extent).explored.length;
+  const areaCells = areas.cells ** 2;
   const good = () => JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(serialise(played())));
 
   it('accepts a save for this world', () => {
-    expect(isLoadable(good(), 1337, segments, cells)).toBe(true);
+    expect(isLoadable(good(), 1337, segments, cells, areaCells)).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it('rejects a save from a different world', () => {
     // Seeds define the map; loading one campaign's roads into another's world
     // would put checkpoints and memories on roads that do not exist.
-    expect(isLoadable(good(), 999, segments, cells)).toBe(false);
+    expect(isLoadable(good(), 999, segments, cells, areaCells)).toBe(false);
   });
 
   it('rejects a save from an older format', () => {
-    expect(isLoadable({ ...good(), version: SAVE_VERSION - 1 }, 1337, segments, cells)).toBe(false);
+    expect(
+      isLoadable({ ...good(), version: SAVE_VERSION - 1 }, 1337, segments, cells, areaCells),
+    ).toBe(false);
   });
 
   it('rejects a save whose arrays no longer match the generator', () => {
     // Changing world generation invalidates old saves. Refusing is correct:
     // a half-restored campaign is worse than a fresh one.
-    expect(isLoadable(good(), 1337, segments + 1, cells)).toBe(false);
-    expect(isLoadable(good(), 1337, segments, cells + 1)).toBe(false);
+    expect(isLoadable(good(), 1337, segments + 1, cells, areaCells)).toBe(false);
+    expect(isLoadable(good(), 1337, segments, cells + 1, areaCells)).toBe(false);
   });
 
   it('rejects junk without throwing', () => {
     for (const junk of [null, undefined, 42, 'save', {}, { version: SAVE_VERSION }]) {
-      expect(isLoadable(junk, 1337, segments, cells)).toBe(false);
+      expect(isLoadable(junk, 1337, segments, cells, areaCells)).toBe(false);
     }
   });
 });
diff --git a/src/sim/save.ts b/src/sim/save.ts
index b72a6f0..803ed8d 100644
--- a/src/sim/save.ts
+++ b/src/sim/save.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import type { Intel } from './intel';
 import type { Boundaries, Front } from './regions';
 import type { ActiveQuest, QuestState } from './quests';
 
-export const SAVE_VERSION = 1;
+export const SAVE_VERSION = 2;
 
 export interface CarSnapshot {
   position: [number, number, number];
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ export interface SaveData {
   elapsed: number;
   condition: CarCondition;
   car: CarSnapshot;
-  heat: { value: number[]; level: HeatLevel[] };
+  heat: { value: number[]; level: HeatLevel[]; area: number[] };
   intel: {
     rememberedHeat: number[];
     rememberedLevel: HeatLevel[];
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ export function serialise(s: Snapshot): SaveData {
     elapsed: s.elapsed,
     condition: { level: { ...s.condition.level }, ceiling: { ...s.condition.ceiling } },
     car: s.car,
-    heat: { value: [...s.heat.value], level: [...s.heat.level] },
+    heat: { value: [...s.heat.value], level: [...s.heat.level], area: [...s.heat.area] },
     intel: {
       rememberedHeat: [...s.intel.rememberedHeat],
       rememberedLevel: [...s.intel.rememberedLevel],
@@ -94,7 +94,13 @@ export function serialise(s: Snapshot): SaveData {
  * Checks a save is for this world and this format before anything is applied.
  * Half-restoring a campaign is worse than starting a fresh one.
  */
-export function isLoadable(data: unknown, seed: number, segments: number, cells: number): boolean {
+export function isLoadable(
+  data: unknown,
+  seed: number,
+  segments: number,
+  cells: number,
+  areas: number,
+): boolean {
   if (!data || typeof data !== 'object') return false;
   const save = data as Partial<SaveData>;
   if (save.version !== SAVE_VERSION || save.seed !== seed) return false;
@@ -103,6 +109,7 @@ export function isLoadable(data: unknown, seed: number, segments: number, cells:
   // it. A generator change invalidates old saves, which is the correct outcome.
   return (
     save.heat.value?.length === segments &&
+    save.heat.area?.length === areas &&
     save.intel.seenAt?.length === segments &&
     save.intel.explored?.length === cells
   );
@@ -117,6 +124,7 @@ export function apply(data: SaveData, into: Snapshot): void {
 
   into.heat.value = [...data.heat.value];
   into.heat.level = [...data.heat.level];
+  into.heat.area = [...data.heat.area];
 
   into.intel.rememberedHeat = [...data.intel.rememberedHeat];
   into.intel.rememberedLevel = [...data.intel.rememberedLevel];
diff --git a/src/sim/units.test.ts b/src/sim/units.test.ts
index f9a045f..ebd72d6 100644
--- a/src/sim/units.test.ts
+++ b/src/sim/units.test.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { makeRng } from '../core/rng';
 import { generateWorld } from './world';
 import { buildGraph } from './routing';
 import { createFront, controlAt } from './regions';
-import { createHeat } from './heat';
+import { createHeat, createAreas } from './heat';
 import { freshCondition } from './car';
 import {
   AMBIENT_PATROLS,
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@ import {
   hasBuilt,
   stepUnits,
   PATROL_HEAT_DECAY,
+  PEDESTRIAN_TARGET,
   patrolProgress,
+  TRAFFIC_TARGET,
   type UnitState,
 } from './units';
 import { createCombat, segmentHits, stepCombat } from './combat';
@@ -20,6 +22,7 @@ import { createCombat, segmentHits, stepCombat } from './combat';
 const world = generateWorld(1337);
 const graph = buildGraph(world.roads);
 const front = createFront(1337, world.extent, world.spawn);
+const areas = createAreas(world.roads, world.extent);
 
 function run(
   state: UnitState,
@@ -66,8 +69,14 @@ describe('a world with people in it', () => {
   it('does not let the population grow without bound', () => {
     const state = createUnits();
     run(state, 400);
-    expect(state.units.filter((u) => u.role === 'traffic').length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(14);
-    expect(state.units.filter((u) => u.role === 'pedestrian').length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(10);
+    // Asserted against the targets themselves rather than hardcoded numbers,
+    // so tuning the density does not break a test about it being bounded.
+    expect(state.units.filter((u) => u.role === 'traffic').length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(
+      TRAFFIC_TARGET,
+    );
+    expect(state.units.filter((u) => u.role === 'pedestrian').length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(
+      PEDESTRIAN_TARGET,
+    );
   });
 
   it('cleans up anything that wanders too far from the player', () => {
@@ -426,7 +435,7 @@ describe('rounds in flight', () => {
 
 describe('heat and units together', () => {
   it('leaves heat alone when no patrol has arrived', () => {
-    const heat = createHeat(world.roads);
+    const heat = createHeat(world.roads, areas);
     heat.value[4] = 0.5;
     const state = createUnits();
     dispatchTo(state, world.roads, graph, world.roads.segments[4]!, 'patrol', makeRng(7));
diff --git a/src/sim/units.ts b/src/sim/units.ts
index c135655..584f209 100644
--- a/src/sim/units.ts
+++ b/src/sim/units.ts
@@ -103,10 +103,10 @@ export const createUnits = (): UnitState => ({
 // --- Tuning ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /** How many civilian vehicles try to exist near the player. */
-const TRAFFIC_TARGET = 14;
-const PEDESTRIAN_TARGET = 10;
+export const TRAFFIC_TARGET = 34;
+export const PEDESTRIAN_TARGET = 30;
 /** Units further than this from the player are despawned; the world is big. */
-export const SIM_RADIUS = 420;
+export const SIM_RADIUS = 640;
 /** Civilians keep clear of the shooting. */
 const CIVILIAN_FLEE_RANGE = 70;
 
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ const SPEED: Record<UnitKind, number> = { car: 14, soldier: 2.4 };
 /** Seconds a dispatched patrol works its road before leaving. */
 const PATROL_DURATION = 90;
 /** Heat removed per second by a patrol actually driving its assigned road. */
-export const PATROL_HEAT_DECAY = 0.012;
+export const PATROL_HEAT_DECAY = 0.005;
 /**
  * Seconds of an engineer standing on site per stage. Concrete is quicker than a
  * tower, but neither is instant — arriving mid-build is meant to be a thing that
diff --git a/src/ui/hud.ts b/src/ui/hud.ts
index 0775f28..f704f6a 100644
--- a/src/ui/hud.ts
+++ b/src/ui/hud.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ export interface HudModel {
     /** False while on the verge — still counts as using the road. */
     onTarmac: boolean;
     value: number;
+    /** Standing of the district, which feeds every road through it. */
+    area: number;
     level: HeatLevel | null;
   };
   quest: {
@@ -113,6 +115,7 @@ export function createHud(seed: number) {
             : `#${model.heat.segmentId} ${model.heat.onTarmac ? '(on road)' : '(alongside)'}`
         }`,
         `[debug] heat ${bar(model.heat.value)} ${model.heat.level ?? '—'}`,
+        `[debug] area ${bar(model.heat.area)}`,
         '',
         `seed ${seed}`,
         `WASD drive · space handbrake · R respawn · M sound ${model.muted ? 'off' : 'on'}`,