Boris Gudenuf
Deity
Except that human resources have always been Mobile: they move from country to town, from city to city, from country to country, as individuals, families, occasionally as Masses. A trait which can be used to the game's benefit.Have a 'human' resource that works like Strategic Resources.
By representing that kind of movement Implicitly instead of Explicitly, the acquisition of more human resources doesn't have to be tied to some long, slow, 'birth-related' process. City populations, which is how Civ has always measured populations in general, could rise (or fall) much faster than they have in-game in the past.
And many of the mechanics that affect population movements are already in place in the game. People move to cities for some pretty specific reasons:
1. Amenities - the city is a Nice Place to live: with cultural, entertainment facilities not available in the country or village.
2. Jobs. Even unskilled labor could, historically, find work in a city. And skilled labor could find people with the money to pay very, very well for their skills.
3. Power. Specifically, the Palace was source of well-paid jobs, patronage, and potential advancement socially, economically, and politically.
4. Protection. Wall = City in many of the oldest languages, and the city was where you could find better protection than a palisade around your village.
So, building Entertainment and Cultural venues, structures with Specialist Slots (Jobs - which should be just about every structure in a city), Walls and fortifications - all that should not only increase your other 'currencies' like Gold, Religion, and Production, but also the Human Resources of the city