cpolk

Strange coincidence. limyaael wrote her City Rant part one today, and I went to the library today to research Urban planning for my fantasy novel. The cursed place announced that the library was closing as soon as I put down a stack of books on this subject, but in the ten minutes I had to read, I picked up a few interesting tidbits on it for citybuilding. and this one, I think, is HUGELY important and often overlooked by fantasy writers -


Urban populations from before the advent of public transportation and the automobile were a largely PEDESTRIAN population. This is a fact that many people seem to ignore - or else, everyone in their city has access to a riding horse that never spooks in crowds and comes with its own kickstand.

But an urban pedestrian lives and moves in an area approximately two miles radius from his home. And how many times do writers muck up *THAT* particular bit or verisimlitude?

I mean, really. I can pick up a stack of fantasy books set in cities. and I can point out to you that they have MARKET DAYS and markets that are specialized by items of TRADE - a poulterer's market, or a dyer's market, or a market of jewellers or horse traders or whatever. What is actually more likely is that there are many many permanent markets of varied goods, and those people who live in the neighborhood visit their local markets, which are "on the way" from their home or where they work. One could find that pricing between markets is consistently competitive, because their shoppers, upon hearing that Fat Freddie has much nicer apples than these, and a half-penny cheaper, well, they'll just hoof on over there.

But none of this trudging five miles to The Only Market in Town and then hauling all that crap back, on foot. Or Worse, trudging five miles to the costermonger's market, and then going to the wool market, and then going to the poulterer's market.. gosh folks, does anyone have time to shop all day? And why are they saving up all their buying need to one day of shopping like a Suburban Attack Vehiclke driving soccer mom headed to Loblaw's for the monthly grocery run? That's a very unnatural way to shop, and only feasible if you have a private cargo bearing conveyance. It makes more sense to grab enough food for a couple of days-think the parisian dude with the baguette sticking out of his sack. Buy a little bit frequently.

It still holds true in modern times - if an urban resident is reliant upon walking and no other transportation they most likely won't budge out of that two mile radius either...

You know what else chaps my hide about fantasy cities?

Where are the public spaces? you find parks galore in english regency romances, but when was the last time a character in an urban fantasy novel went down to Father Silverleaf Memorial Garden and fed the bloody DUCKS while he considered his next move? GAH!

Ducks led to something else. I'm working on rounding out my city design, and I just finished a really brief field guide to birds one can see in Angelus' city. Only about a dozen or so, but it's all part of sketching out an urban ecology, which is something that often gets missed in fantasy novels as well. I'm pleased with my common names for birds, too... like waterbirds that are known as Gentlemen... red-crested Gentlemen, for instance.

...or the Idea I had for the Omen Dove, which has an appearance that is a cross between the passesnger pigeon and the mourning dove, and are actually artificially introduced into the area. Originally a long distance message method for a mobile military, keeping pigeons has "trickled down" and is now a widely used method of urban communication. Common people cultivate dovecotes and nesting areas, so they can take doves on their particular trips across town to people who may want to contact them. depending on the alertness of the recipient, a message can make it to the right eyes in ten to twenty minutes.

Hell, I could write a story in this city just using the field guide idea. Call it the secret life of birds, or something.