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Thread: City Street Layout Help

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wingshaw View Post
    This is an interesting city concept, Hugh.

    I'd say that you should decide how much you want this city to be 'planned' and how much you want it to be 'organic,' as that choice will play a big part in the street layout. Remember, that they don't have to be mutually exclusive: a city may have started being planned but then grew naturally beyond the original layout; or alternatively an 'organic' city may have planned neighbourhoods added at later times.

    Your first WIP, I think, is much too tightly cramped and the layout is far too random. Your second WIP is very formally laid out: all your streets seem to be fairly evenly spaced and parallel to one another; it's a very interesting look, but it would only be possible through formal planning all at one time.

    To get the 'organic' look that a lot of medieval towns have, you should consider making your central avenue something other than a perfectly straight line: even if there are no obstacles to construction, humans don't tend to walk in perfectly straight lines. We take shortcuts, we meander, we don't concentrate, we have different destinations and goals, etc. I'd recommend deciding where your city began and how (a group of merchants setting up shop beside a highway; some soldiers wanting to extort a toll from passers-by; sea-going traders wanting to create a suitable supply port; an ambitious king wanting to control a strategically crucial position; an innkeeper wanting to benefit from passing trade, etc.), and then start thinking about how and why it expanded:

    - did it start in the middle and expand equally fast in both directions? If so, why?
    - did it start at one end and expand to encompass the entire bridge? If so, are there any overflowing areas on the mainland?
    - what landmarks and buildings are important in this city, and when did they appear? To help you, here are a few ideas:
    - where do the people go to work?
    - where do the people get their food?
    - where do the people go when danger threatens?
    - where do the people go to worship?
    - where do the people go to relax/socialise?

    If you want an 'organic' look to your city, my main recommendation would be this: do not allow any roads to be perfectly straight, as that is not a natural thing for people to do (note that a perfectly straight boulevard may have been added later, eg if some ruler demolished houses and shops in his way so that he could lay out such an avenue). Equally important, do not give way to 'street spaghetti' - that is, streets that wind so much that they look like spaghetti or brains. Streets are likely to curve and bend a little bit. It never hurts to check out some historic town maps - try looking at maps of central Paris, Vienna, Brussels etc. There's even a feature in Google Maps where you can measure distances, which I do frequently to get a reference for how wide streets may be, how large buildings are, etc.

    As it happens, I started mapping a city with a similar feature: my city of Birdseye (which you can see - unfinished - here) began on a high pillar of rock jutting out from the mainland. At some point in the city's history, a monumental bridge was constructed (not as large as yours, but big nonetheless), and over time the bridge became the foundation for an entire district of the city, and the city's main marketplace.

    Hope that some of that helps.

    Wingshaw
    Hi Wingshaw. Thanks for the reply. So I need to flesh out the backstory a little to determine if it's organic or planned. Right now, I'm leaning toward saying that it starts out organic, with maybe a few inns or taverns being built to house weary travelers. After that, it's likely that a local kingdom would recognize the bridge's importance to both land and sea trade, and seek to stake their claim on the bridge. From that point, the city begins to take on a more planned feel. Like I said, I think I need to flesh this out a bit more. But I got hit with some inspiration and decided to go willy nilly on a new map before considering it's backstory!

  2. #12
    Guild Master Falconius's Avatar
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    Assuming it's placement in history is pre-automobile remember that people pretty much walked everywhere. Also remember that without computers, organization and logistics is significantly more complicated. Meaning that people would tend to organize their businesses homes and markets around a comfortable walking distance from one another, and that they'd be small enough to be managed by only a few people using their heads. In which case one large market may exist, but almost certainly not without a few others.

  3. #13
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    Hey guys, so I got another quick update. Unfortunately I haven't had much time over the last week to work on my map, but I've made a few adjustments. I've enhanced the landscape and the water a bit (still got some work to do there). Also, I've decided that I'll try something a little different with the street layout. I figured I could start with a small town and kind of grow out from there. You'll notice one on each side of the bridge. It made sense to connect the two towns/villages with a road. Hopefully it gives the layout a little bit more of an organic feel.

    Also, I added a small island in the middle of the inlet, right under the bridge. This will allow middle support of the bridge to be placed on the island which is pretty crucial for the engineering. With that, you might notice what looks like two wooden docks on the sides of the bridge over the island. I had an idea that on that island will be a small town which will serve as the bridge-city's port. To quickly get goods and people from the town to the city above will be a system of elevator-like pulleys. Let me know what you all think!
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    Last edited by HughVoodoo; 03-17-2018 at 11:08 PM.

  4. #14
    Guild Expert Wingshaw's Avatar
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    That is much better, Hugh

    Wingshaw


    Formerly TheHoarseWhisperer

  5. #15
    Guild Journeyer Guild Sponsor Arkidemis's Avatar
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    Agreed, it is definately more appealing now. Intrested to see where you take it from here.

  6. #16
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    Hey guys, here's my latest update on the street layout. I hope that it's not getting too "spaghetti-like". My thinking was that each new street will kind of loop from one of the existing towns and kind of converge on the main, widest street. Do y'all think this makes sense? Thanks for all the help!
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  7. #17
    Guild Expert rdanhenry's Avatar
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    I think it makes no sense to be building roads on a bridge, which is just an elevated road. Any place where there isn't a building is already road (probably a better road than the people can build, since "the bridge was built by god-like characters").

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by rdanhenry View Post
    I think it makes no sense to be building roads on a bridge, which is just an elevated road. Any place where there isn't a building is already road (probably a better road than the people can build, since "the bridge was built by god-like characters").
    Hey rdanhenry,

    Sorry for any confusion. There aren't actually any roads being built. As you said, the bridge itself is basically a road. However, the idea is that buildings will start popping up on the bridge, so naturally "roads" between the buildings will start to appear. I'm trying to lay out what those "roads" will look like after all the buildings are up.

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