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Inga Mueller-Haagen: Die DNA der Stadt (German language, 2014, Verlag Hermann Schmidt) No rating

One of my long-running aspirations is to design a (#dnd -style) #fantasy #ttrpg setting that features truly vast cities, of a size comparable to modern-day major metropolitan areas.

As a result, I've accumulated a number of books that try to examine the structure and layout of cities - what makes a modern city a city, instead of just focusing on any single town. This particular book offers layout views of streets and buildings of major cities - without labeling them - so that readers can get a feel for their structure instead of getting bogged down in the details.

replied to Jürgen Hubert's status

@juergen_hubert I’ve been fascinated by this ever since we had to colour in city borders in primary school and I discovered almost all cities with a medieval origin were circle-like, except our own. Haarlem is more of a rectangle because it was built on a ridge of sand in the middle of a swamp. The swamp has been destroyed but the shape is still there!

replied to Anna's status

@juergen_hubert another super fun fact, although I think you need aerial pictures to fully appreciate it: all streets around the huge 19th century Catholic cathedral have been meticulously designed to ALL just look past it!! except the Koorstraat (choir street) on the other side of the canal. The city council was Protestant. The ground the Koorstraat was built on was owned by a catholic.