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If your city’s government is democratic or republic, there will be a town hall or a government capitol. Town Halls or Town Squares (for small villages).Forts, especially star-shaped Bastion Forts.Some of them (mills, for instance) will be more important to call out in smaller villages, while others will only exist in a larger metropolis. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of important building types. These buildings define the center of a ward or region, and the important ones will have larger roads to access them. These locations (along with the terrain) will drive how the roads are laid out. What are the Important Buildings?īefore you lay down roads you have to know where the important buildings are. You may want to hold off adding city walls until you’ve figured out where your important buildings are (see below), but you want to have them in place before you start adding lots of buildings. The largest of cities will have whole wards and regions of growth outside of the walls, along the roads inward. City walls rarely if ever surrounded local farmland. Older cities may have multiple sets of walls, radiating outwards, added as the city grew organically. A reasonable population requirement is around 4,000 inhabitants before the wall becomes economically viable. Walls will only exist with larger cities – those that have both the economy to support them and the need for the defensive capabilities they provide. Walls are great defenses and are much desired but they are expensive to build, maintain, and man. Not all cities will have walls and those that do are generally larger and require defenses. Are there Walls?Ī common question with regards to cities is whether or not there are walls.
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It’s backbreaking work but it can be (and was) done – especially if the government has a supply of slaves and peasants.
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Humans have known how to move and control rivers for a long, long time. Knowing what your fresh water sources are is super-important, period, as you will see below.ĭo not make the mistake of assuming primitive engineering. People do not often reside in flood planes and those that do are generally the poorest to be found. Larger cities will have built up walls around the river to prevent flooding, but smaller ones will not have. If your city has a river, be aware of its flood plane, if it has one. Poor residential areas will located here as well.
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Your bazaars will be in lowland areas, as will your docks and warehouses. Lowland areas are going to be working districts. Since it is difficult to bring heavy goods up hill, they will rarely be locations of commerce. Generally: the higher up you live, the richer you are. The highest hills will be claimed by defensive structures (watch towers and forts) or by the super rich (palaces and estates). Highland areas are going to be more residential in nature. The city’s terrain also helps you know where the city’s districts and wards are going to be. Cities have rivers and streams and the knowing where the highlands are will help you know how the water flows. You should have an idea – at least a sketch – of the highlands and lowlands as this defines the flavor of those parts of the city. Rome is famously built on “Seven Hills”, for instance, and Florence’s biggest feature is the River Arno. Most cities are not built on flat, featureless land.
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