November Sneak Peak
Added 2024-10-30 16:05:30 +0000 UTCHeyo! This month is almost over and I've started working on some of the maps for next month. Here's a sneak peak of the map that you can expect to see in November! Let me know what you think of these sketches in the comments!
Comments
Thank you very much, both for the praise and taking the time to write this down. While I don't specifically use these steps, I always try to think about where the city started and how it expanded. The examples you shared are very interesting though. I might do some research into burgage plots and see how I can use them to improve my maps :)
Daniel's Maps
2024-11-03 19:54:07 +0000 UTCI'm an urban planner and DM. I normally don't like fantasy city maps because they can look a bit odd and contrived to my eyes. But I really love your attention to detail! TLDR: I'd love to see a map series with versions of a city at various stages in it's growth closely modelling real life growth patterns. I thought rather than just offering a vague idea, I might offer a method for that idea. 😰 First stage: could be an initial fortification on a volcanic plug (like Edinburgh Castle) near the joining point of two navigable rivers. Straight roads lead to it with only a few buildings needed to service it (barracks, bath, mess, blacksmith, tavern, a few houses etc.) being clustered near the (wooden) castle entrance. Second stage: ribbon development has emerged clinging to the original roads with small, improvised streets connecting the most important development on the roads. The improvised streets weave around the property lines of farms and other natural/manmade obstacles creating a naturalistic irregular web pattern around the castle. These naturally formed roads try to connect two places of interest (like bridges, churches, intersections, or a very important business) rather than forming because a connection would be useful if development were to increase later on; there is no forethought, just desire paths seeking to meet immediate need. The castle has been re-built in stone. At this stage, small villages outside the town have started to grow at important sites (intersections, churches, mills, manors, water sources) outside the town. These are small dense settlements with buildings clustered close to the important site. Third stage: a wall is built around the main part of the second stage of the town’s growth. This leads to development pressure inside the walls (seeking protection and prosperity). The resulting infill development completely lines the roads and streets within the walls with development leading to the formation of large burgage plots which in many cases are farmed or used for various business uses the burgher residents might have (increasing number of outbuildings and leasing/selling land for dwellings and businesses). Outside, development is centred near gates with ribbon development leading away on the roads. Some of the villages are swallowed up by the expanding sprawl/edge type growth pattern seen near these gates. Fourth stage: the oldest parts of the town have their burgage plots completely infilled with buildings of increasing height and density (particularly in the oldest most desirable parts of the city). Small alleys have emerged to allow development of the inner most parts of the former burgage plots, and these small and tight alleys/closes/passageways wind through these blocks of development connecting and forming an irregular web within the blocks. In many cases buildings are built over these alleys/closes/passageways as land (and light) is at such a premium. Cheaper accommodation is typically located deeper within these blocks and higher up. More expensive accommodation is on original roads and streets nearest ground level. Meanwhile, outside the walls the same processes in stage two are creating burgage plots close to the gates which glide into ribbon style development as it gets further away. A large number of the original villages have been subsumed into the city and form district centres in some cases. New villages have cropped up outside the city mirroring the earlier village formation processes. Perhaps a small district near the city walls had to be demolished to make way for a mausoleum to house the dead, due to the marked increase in disease. Excellent illustrations of burgage plot infill: https://urbanformation.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-9.png And at a larger scale based on the same research: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Evgeniya-Bobkova/publication/337567328/figure/fig3/AS:829866903609345@1574867096961/llustration-of-Conzens-burgage-cycle-concept-spatial-and-legal-framework-of-the-plot.png
Jimble-jämz
2024-10-31 10:48:33 +0000 UTCThanks! That one is heavily inspired by old Dutch cities It sounds like I was able to get that across :)
Daniel's Maps
2024-10-31 10:46:52 +0000 UTCI like the canal city with the wetlands. With the clean lines and curves it really gives the impression that it was made with land reclamation adding new sections over time as it grew.
Dat Trans Chick
2024-10-30 17:48:10 +0000 UTC
