Actually, since it is supposed to be a citybuilding game, I like the idea behind it.
One needs population to keep factories and workshops going, but yes, something should be keeping the population going as well.
And perhaps apart from cultural objects also some entertainment objects, to keep them happy.
But all of this would ask for a lot of added tech in every chapter. And use up a lot of space again, so that needs to be adressed too.
Not to mention that I personally pretty much hate adding tech retroactively in past chapters all the time.