If you were to create your ultimate city (from scratch), what would be your main priority to make it successful?

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Something tells me you've never lived in a northern city. You'd have to travel hundreds of miles north of the frost line before you start encountering latitudes where the winter starts becoming a big obstacle.

Isolation? The Romans invented roads 2000 years ago, salt thousands of years ago, and snow plows have been around for over a century. Places like Chicago are no more isolated than places like Dallas.

Northern cities are used to snow and are well equipped to deal with snow just like southern cities are used to dealing with skin cancer. It's quite amusing to watch some cities come to a complete stand still after just a few feet of snow. That's a result of inexperience and lack of equipment more than snow being an insurmountable problem.

Having a winter doesn't mean you don't have summer and northerners are outside 12 months of the year any way. Southern cities have to endure a never ending summer and all the negatives that come with that. Where will the winter festivals be held? Where can people go to enjoy the snow/winter wonder land?

Underground pipes? Don't we already have that and why would you want those above ground?

Well, each city has its own set of problems, for sure. I can address the issues of New York City versus Miami, for example, but those two are way different in terms of infrastructure, development, and climate. Put it this way: I've lived in a very large metropolis, Manila, for 18 years of my life, and comparing it to San Francisco, the two metropolises are completely different. One has humid, tropical weather all year long, the other having microclimates wherein an area's temperature will not be the same in another part of the metropolis. You need to address several key factors first before establishing your main city plan.

If building at high altitude or tundra regions, you will need to account for snowfall and short summers.

If building close to the Equator, you will need to account for humidity and rainfall.

If building in a desert, you will need to account for fluctuating temperatures in the summer.

So many factors need to be considered first.

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by zaphod

Anecdotally, DFW airport always gets iced during the winter. I'm sure ORD has way more snow days, obviously, but even some warm places can be crippled by that one ice storm a year they aren't prepared for.

How about IAH? Is that also being iced as well? It and DFW are the big airports in Texas, so I think Houston also deserves icing too...?

[Dude_Aze]

This made me think. Hehe.

But the answer i chose is well managed utilities because i guess every people has basic needs and without these basic needs, people might not settle in. Once people live in the city, everything else follows.

[Suburbanist]

I respect people who think differently, but I honestly laugh myself out when I read outdated concepts like "cities with unique cultures" when we are actually living at a day and age when, fortunately, communication and interaction has never been so easy, thus enabling a convergence (not a divergence) of "cultures" between cities of a same country, whereas creating more within-city diversity.

I found all these claims of "unique culture" flimsy and overrated, often founded on hype or other overemphasized stereotypes when someone tries to convince me, for instance, that Seattle and Dallas are places with completely different cultures...

[The Cake On BBQ]

Originally Posted by Suburbanist

I respect people who think differently, but I honestly laugh myself out when I read outdated concepts like "cities with unique cultures" when we are actually living at a day and age when, fortunately, communication and interaction has never been so easy, thus enabling a convergence (not a divergence) of "cultures" between cities of a same country, whereas creating more within-city diversity.

I found all these claims of "unique culture" flimsy and overrated, often founded on hype or other overemphasized stereotypes when someone tries to convince me, for instance, that Seattle and Dallas are places with completely different cultures...

Wow, I actually agree with you. Although small cultural differences among cities wouldn't be so bad though.

Anyways, my city would be like Berlin I guess. Except maybe with a bigger urban area, slightly denser and with more highrises of course.

[poshbakerloo]

Originally Posted by fieldsofdreams

Will you put in traffic lights along your parkways, or will you build grade-separated exits to deal with interchanges or crossings? Ornate sidewalk lighting can indeed reduce blight and potential criminal activity... but how will you manage a potential expense of keeping them on all night to keep the pedestrians safe? Are you going to use solar-powered sidewalk lamps?

Either roundabouts with traffic light controlled pedestrian crossings set inwards from the entry points, or just normal traffic light junctions - undecided. No grade separation within the city as its too disruptive to the pedestrian environment. Although maybe an under pass could be added under a roundabout at the must busy junctions if needed in the future.

The ornate pavement lights will be powered the same as anything else, depends on the power source, but the lights them selves can be LED to reduce power consumption, unless some discrete solar panels could be developed they wouldn't be used as they look ugly.

[CNB30]

Originally Posted by fieldsofdreams

Great summary right there! Question though: when you say lots of industries, what kind/s of industries will you put in your city, and where?

any kind, from industrial, to financial, and even government.

[CNB30]

Originally Posted by CNB30

I think a truly dense urban city with plenty of industries walk able neighborhoods, beautiful non-modern architecture, a good key location with much transportation infrastructure, and a unique culture will get you a successful city.

I forgot one thing,

all buildings are cramped with ornament



Ornament is no crime. The crime is the theft of ornament and character from the structure.

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by Dude_Aze

This made me think. Hehe.

But the answer i chose is well managed utilities because i guess every people has basic needs and without these basic needs, people might not settle in. Once people live in the city, everything else follows.

Sounds decent to me. So you're prioritizing power lines, water mains, water pipes, telecommunications and the like... Looks like you might end up with an IT-style city like Silicon Valley or Bangalore.

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by Suburbanist

I respect people who think differently, but I honestly laugh myself out when I read outdated concepts like "cities with unique cultures" when we are actually living at a day and age when, fortunately, communication and interaction has never been so easy, thus enabling a convergence (not a divergence) of "cultures" between cities of a same country, whereas creating more within-city diversity.

I found all these claims of "unique culture" flimsy and overrated, often founded on hype or other overemphasized stereotypes when someone tries to convince me, for instance, that Seattle and Dallas are places with completely different cultures...

You mean in-city diversity? It sounds like multicultural cities are becoming the norm nowadays, with many cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago enjoying a "melting pot" of cultural ethnicities, from Jewish to Japanese, Polish to Puerto Rican, and those make the city thrive socially. The only thing would be, would it be possible to provide an in-city call center run by the City Government wherein resident concerns (I.e. trash, transportation, parking, landscaping) can be addressed with just a single call or email, and that their concerns will be answered in their mother language?

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by The Cake On BBQ

Wow, I actually agree with you. Although small cultural differences among cities wouldn't be so bad though.

Anyways, my city would be like Berlin I guess. Except maybe with a bigger urban area, slightly denser and with more highrises of course.

Right on. What else would you put in a bigger urban area, aside from more apartments and high-rises?

[The Cake On BBQ]

Originally Posted by fieldsofdreams

Right on. What else would you put in a bigger urban area, aside from more apartments and high-rises?

Hmm, vertical farms/parks here and there, roof gardens and livings walls. More creeks. Maybe some hills, but that would be beyond urban planning I suppose

I can't think of anything else. Maybe a huge ass waterpark? A city like that couldn't get any better lol

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by The Cake On BBQ

Hmm, vertical farms/parks here and there, roof gardens and livings walls. More creeks. Maybe some hills, but that would be beyond urban planning I suppose

I can't think of anything else. Maybe a huge ass waterpark? A city like that couldn't get any better lol

Vertical farms and parks are innovative solutions to food security in cities, while roof gardens and living walls are becoming popular solutions for new construction. A water park? Well, that may be a fun attraction, but you would need to recycle the water to make it feasible because it uses tons of water everyday.

[The Cake On BBQ]

Originally Posted by fieldsofdreams

Vertical farms and parks are innovative solutions to food security in cities, while roof gardens and living walls are becoming popular solutions for new construction. A water park? Well, that may be a fun attraction, but you would need to recycle the water to make it feasible because it uses tons of water everyday.

Lolz of course. Otherwise it would consume all the water in each dam within a few weeks.

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by The Cake On BBQ

Lolz of course. Otherwise it would consume all the water in each dam within a few weeks.

Hahaha just wanna let you know, that's why. Oh and by the way, what about raising poultry at apartment blocks? Would that work too?

[The Cake On BBQ]

Originally Posted by fieldsofdreams

Hahaha just wanna let you know, that's why. Oh and by the way, what about raising poultry at apartment blocks? Would that work too?

Why not. It's pretty common here in Turkey actually (but only allowed to apartments with gardens), and although not for poultry, you can see ducks everywhere in Germany and Netherlands.

But of course there are gonna be sissies who will find it "unhygienic and unhealthy", which is far from truth.

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by The Cake On BBQ

Why not. It's pretty common here in Turkey actually (but only allowed to apartments with gardens), and although not for poultry, you can see ducks everywhere in Germany and Netherlands.

But of course there are gonna be sissies who will find it "unhygienic and unhealthy", which is far from truth.

Right. That's an assumption indeed. Urban farming can be a boon to a city's food security, and it could mean lower costs for residents and promote healthy competition for grocery and other shop owners.

[Suburbanist]

Originally Posted by CNB30

Ornament is no crime. The crime is the theft of ornament and character from the structure.

Structures that need ornaments to have "character" are like people with ugly faces relying on makeup to solve the problem.

Ornaments belong to an era when humanity didn't have other forms of visual expression, 2D and 3D, as we have today. They are obsolete.

Originally Posted by fieldsofdreams

You mean in-city diversity? It sounds like multicultural cities are becoming the norm nowadays, with many cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago enjoying a "melting pot" of cultural ethnicities, from Jewish to Japanese, Polish to Puerto Rican, and those make the city thrive socially. The only thing would be, would it be possible to provide an in-city call center run by the City Government wherein resident concerns (I.e. trash, transportation, parking, landscaping) can be addressed with just a single call or email, and that their concerns will be answered in their mother language?

I'm not even thinking of ethnic diversity, I'm honestly not concerned about that. I'm talking more of the following evolution:

=> past: cities had people had looked more or less alike, listened to the same music (which had to be played on-site before recording and playing devices came around in early 20th Century), ate similar foods (which with few exceptions weren't hauled from all over the world) and maybe even dressed similarly

=> present day: you can find different social groups, food offers, music etc. on different cities. They are more and more becoming globalized (think of sushi bars all over America, McDonalds all over the World, music bands with global reach - be them niche Youtube fan-based or something like Justin Bieber), and offering different lifestyles for its inhabitants


Personally, I think people are far better of nowadays, when the place they live doesn't constrain their personal cultural consumption and association choices as it would probably have 130 years ago.

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by Suburbanist

I'm not even thinking of ethnic diversity, I'm honestly not concerned about that. I'm talking more of the following evolution:

=> past: cities had people had looked more or less alike, listened to the same music (which had to be played on-site before recording and playing devices came around in early 20th Century), ate similar foods (which with few exceptions weren't hauled from all over the world) and maybe even dressed similarly

=> present day: you can find different social groups, food offers, music etc. on different cities. They are more and more becoming globalized (think of sushi bars all over America, McDonalds all over the World, music bands with global reach - be them niche Youtube fan-based or something like Justin Bieber), and offering different lifestyles for its inhabitants

Personally, I think people are far better of nowadays, when the place they live doesn't constrain their personal cultural consumption and association choices as it would probably have 130 years ago.

You're definitely correct on that one. It seems like cities nowadays are hubs for global commerce, in which they become more and more specialized while sharing many common characteristics, shops, and the like. But, I still believe that cities can evolve to become more self-sufficient and connected with the rest of the world.

[Rascar]

Urban farming can be a boon to a city's food security, and it could mean lower costs for residents and promote healthy competition for grocery and other shop owners.

I'm not sure "urban farming" can contribute to a cities food supply in any meaningful way. Most people who grow vegetables or keep chickens do it as a hobby, you can usually buy the same food stuffs cheaper in a supermarket than your cost of production. Obviously economies of scale mean modern agriculture is best placed to provide people with a stable food supply.

Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick and people are thinking of a more sci-fi verticle farm solution, but even then I would have thought large rural expanses where land is cheap make urban farming economically unviable.

Better IMO to use space and resources in a city to create green spaces that the population can enjoy for recreation, sport etc.