Heywood (2077)

This article is about the district in Cyberpunk 2077. For other uses, see Heywood (disambiguation).

Heywood
Information
Type	District
City	Night City
Appearance(s)
Game(s)	Cyberpunk 2077
Book(s)	Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit A Visitor's Guide to Night City The World of Cyberpunk 2077
Other	Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Heywood is a neighborhood of contrast—from modern skyscrapers and parks in the north, to dangerous, inhospitable slums in the south. It's "the biggest bedroom in Night City," where gangs like Valentinos and 6th Street get down to business—legal and illegal alike.

 — Cyberpunk 2077

Heywood is one of the major districts of Night City, located in the central portion of the metropolis.

Overview

In 2077, Heywood is seen as a district of complete contrasts. The north borders the City Center and is where you'll find lush parks and modern skyscrapers towering high above. However further south, the district changes drastically, with dangerous and unwelcoming slum-like areas dominating the urban landscape. The Valentinos and 6th Street gangs have control over this district, and are constantly fighting for it, though if you keep your head low they won't bother you, usually. Known by the locals as "the biggest bedroom in Night City," Heywood houses more people than any other portion of the city. The richer parts of Heywood are primarily occupied by corporate types, while the rest are just happy they get to live in Heywood.

Wellsprings, the safest part of Heywood, is full of working stiffs and underpaid corporate employees, being one of the most touristic destinations of the district. The Glen is the state-owned sub-district, with the city hall, justice court, and a large NCPD presence. Vista del Rey is the poorest part of the district, being heavily underinvested, crime-ridden, and slowly descending further into chaos, with many residents moving to other locations and more gang members moving into the empty void.

History

Early history - 2060s

During the Fourth Corporate War, many refuges from the devastated districts to the north fled to the to the neighboring suburbs of central Night City, where they would overflow them with city tents. Originally an industrial area, this district was known as South Night City, and during the Time of the Red it soon fell into disarray, turning into a vicious Combat Zone infested with dangerous gangs and residents trying to survive in any way they could. The original Heywood was in a different location to the southeast, packed with refugees and divided between a poorer south area known as Santo Domingo, and a wealthier portion known as North Heywood. Over time, the residents of Santo Domingo and Heywood began to clash, while at the same time, a group of reclaimers started to clean up South Night City.

In the following years, the reclaimers improved the former Combat Zone so much that when the residents of North Heywood realized South Night City had much better homes than their own, they decided to move in, kicking the reclaimers out in the process. The new residents then renamed the district to Heywood, since to them that name was who they really were, not where they lived.

2070s

During the 2070s, after the Unification War, Heywood was considered a district of contrasts. The northern neighborhoods adjacent to City Center were modern and well maintained, with skyscrapers, nice parks, and public service buildings. Further south, however, it began to look worse and poorer, especially in the southeastern areas, where the architecture turned more suburban. The Glen was its heart, showcasing the refined and well kept northern and central areas with Reconciliation Park or the notorious City Hall, while more to the south it showed the reality of Heywood. No sub-district exemplified this contrast more than Wellsprings. Occupying the western neighborhoods, the areas bordering City Center provided reasonable safe housing for the small middle class of Night City, and its waterfront (especially the middle and northern parts) was well-adapted for tourists, keeping an overall aura of class. However, the further away to the south and east, the more old shabby buildings dating back to when the district was called South Night City appeared. The poorest and most dangerous area of Heywood was Vista del Rey to the east. The unceasing conflicts with the affluent areas north and west of Vista del Rey occasionally turned violent, and it was just a matter of time before the megacorporations decided to engineer a gentrification of the area for "the good of the city."

In the following years, Heywood stayed relatively the same with the exception of a gang war between the local Valentinos, who had a major influence over the district, and the growing 6th Street, both fighting over the control of Vista del Rey. Despite their gang status and multiple illegal businesses, the Valentinos usually didn't bother other residents as long as they were left alone, though sometimes "shit" happened, especially in dangerous areas like Vista del Rey. Other times, they even helped any tourists that got lost with directions back to City Center or the more touristic areas of the district. Although Heywood was not known to be the best looking part of Night City, it exuded a subtle, yet unmistakable charm, boasting a broad variety of shops and restaurants, from bougie boutiques and seafood restaurants along the waterfront, to colorful open-air markets and taco stands in the more urban neighborhoods. The predominant ethnicity of Heywood were the Latinos, but other ethnicities from around the world lived here as well. Above all Heywood was a bedroom district, offering a plethora of residences, such as towering skyscrapers to the north, neat rows of low-row houses to the south, residential megabuildings, and humbler dwellings, allowing everyone in Night City a choice for housing.

By 2077, the war between Valentinos and 6th Street was intensifying.

Database Entry

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HEYWOOD

Heywood is a district of contradictions. The northern part that borders the City Center is modern and well-kept, proud of its stunning megabuildings, parks, and places that are open to the public. But all you have to is go a few blocks southeast and the scenery starts to change dramatically. This part of Heywood is much poorer and more dangerous. The buildings are smaller and the streets are controlled by the Valentinos and the 6th Street Gang. If you know your place and keep your head down, Heywood isn't really so bad. After all, it's where most of Night City sleeps. If you're not a corpo and you score an apartment in the richer part of the district, then you've just won the lottery. Otherwise, just be happy you live in Heywood. In Night City, things could always be worse.

Sub-districts

Map of Heywood.

• The Glen
• Vista del Rey
• Wellsprings

Other Areas

• Moto Cielo
• Welles' House

Behind the Scenes

In some ways, Heywood is the Westbrook of the southeast: a bedroom-and-bar borough in a semicircle outside the City Center. Heywood trends decidedly more down-market, true, but it has the same basic ingredients. Japantown's role as neon-lit money sponge is played by the strip of restaurants and shopping malls near the coast in Wellsprings. Charter Hill's offer of aspirational-yet-achievable real estate is echoed by Heywood's modest middle areas. North Oak's villas are... well, Heywood has some nice townhouses. In most ways, though, Heywood is unique. By 2077, the middle-class has mostly disappeared, forced into poverty as the ridiculously rich got ridiculously richer. Yet somehow, Heywood manages to approximate a middle-class district all the same: here live those who can scrape together enough to get out of Watson, Pacifica or the wastelands outside town, but not enough to buy their way into Charter Hill. These lucky few cling tightly to their recognizably decent standard of living. It is no surprise, then, that Heywood's residents love their district, warts, violent gangs and all, with fierce pride.

 — The Official Digital Artbook of Cyberpunk 2077

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