Quote Originally Posted by Anthammer
So increasing your farms affects squalor?
Additional farms gives more food, which increases population growth, leading to more inhabitants and more squalor.

Interestingly, in M2TW trade and good governors also increase growth. The trick is to grow as quickly as you can while building stuff that also increases public order, so that squalor and public order increase at the same rate. This gives you large and controllable cities.

If number of inhabitants (=squalor) grow faster than your public order, you get unrest and rebellion.

If the number of inhabitants grow too slowly, your technology and tax income stagnates.

Aim for balance.