both! depends on my mood. i do prefer hand made maps though over randomly generated.

i do lean towards the newly liberated republic because it's so satisfying to modernize a devestated area and feels even more satisfying to take the population from huddling around fireplaces in 1800s era rowhouses to living in luxury apartments in walkable districts with everything they need

i also design my micro districts like self-contained Worker's Resorts. my starting construction town is built more cheaply but i eventually move everyone into the Resort Communities