How to decrease Squalor in Frostpunk 2

As you grow and develop your city in Frostpunk 2, it inevitably becomes more dangerous for its citizens. The loud noise of progress brings along Squalor, which can cause your people to get hurt or even die.

Here’s everything you need to know about Squalor in Frostpunk 2 and how to lower it.

How to lower Squalor in Frostpunk 2

Squalor is one of the five main city problems in Frostpunk 2, alongside Hunger, Disease, Crime, and Cold. Squalor comes from industrial districts and buildings, increasing Disease and Tension. It also damages districts over time, forcing you to spend Prefabs on repairs.

To decrease Squalor, you must have enough Materials in your city to meet the demand. You can check the Material demand at the top of the screen. Ideally, you want a surplus to start stockpiling Materials and avoid additional Squalor when expanding and building more districts.

Build Extraction Districts

The easiest way to get Materials is by building Extraction Districts over regular and deep Material deposits in the city. Every city has a few of them, and if you’re lucky, you might have a rich Material deposit you can access without deep mining technology.

Explore the Frostland

Frostland is filled with resources, including Materials. Send Frostland Teams to explore nearby areas and collect any Material remains you can find. The best sources of Materials in the Frostland are settlements and colonies. You need to find suitable locations to create them first, but it’s worth it in the long term.

Deactivate buildings and districts

As a temporary solution, you can deactivate buildings and districts that generate Squalor or consume a lot of Materials. Hover over the Squalor or Material meters at the top to see which buildings and districts are involved.

Be mindful of which buildings and districts you’re deactivating, as it can affect other areas of your city. Deactivating the Deep Melting Drill, for example, leaves you without access to deep Coal deposits and increases Cold unless you have other fuel sources or a significant stockpile.

Laws and ideas

Laws and ideas significantly impact Squalor, more so than any other problems in Frosptunk 2. You can reduce Squalor and boost Material production with the right laws and ideas, as well as unlock new buildings.

Here are some of the law categories to boost Material production and reduce Squalor:

• Basic Necessities in the City tab (Paid Essentials law)

Here are some of the ideas to boost Material production and reduce Squalor:

• Filtration Towers in the Resources tab
• Waste Heat Conversion in the Resources tab (Heat Overclocking law)
• Sawmills in the Resources tab
• Waste Management Facilities in the Resources tab
• Composites Factories in the Resources tab
• Maintenance Duty in the City tab
• Maintenance Hub in the Hubs tab
• Rail Hub in the Hubs tab