To make a city produce nothing?

[Challe]

Is there a way to make a city produce nothing?
There are times when I think its useless to produce a building or I cant afford units etc.
So is there a way?

[Raddish]

Once you get certain technologies you will be able to spend production to instead increase science or gold output, but if you don't have them you will have to produce something.

[Damsteri]

You can't, and making a city to do nothing would be a bad idea, because you can always use production to make gold in some indirect ways, if not direct. Making gold is always better than making nothing.

You can avoid unit/building maintenance costs by producing units and sell them instantly for gold or send them to city state for influence. There are also couple of buildings that doesn't require maintenance like defence buildings (walls, castle, etc.) and caravansary. You can also try to build a world wonder, because used production is converted to gold if and when you.lose the race for that wonder.

[yes]

what they said

[Ridge]

Once you unlock Guilds, you can convert production to making cash, and then after a certain research is completed, you can convert it to producing research to speed it up.

[mss73055]

or you can build units and give them to city states

[rajwarrior]

Any build costs are retained as well. So if you can't afford a certain building at the time but may want it later, set the city to build it. Just change production if it's close to finishing and you don't want it. Later, you can switch to it and pop it out quick.