Chain Thread: Add One Element To Create A Perfect City

[Fiddlestix]

I hope this works and isn't too complicated.

I'd like to see what happens if we each add one desirable feature of a city to this thread.

You can come back and add others as long as your most recent previous post doesn't appear on the last page of this thread.

Right now, the city has no attributes. No people. No buildings. No roads. No location.

Once an attribute has been added, try to add a new one that doesn't conflict with it. So, if someone posts "Population over a million," you MAY post "Population of 4-5 million" but you should avoid posting "Population = 500K."

You can choose "On the coast" and someone else can add "Near a river" or "Accessible to mountains" but they shouldn't say "In Iowa." What feature -- of those that haven't been determined when you read through this thread -- is the one you most want to add to the "Perfect City?"

Hopefully, the earlier posts will be more general, letting others decide the details (unless you come back later yourself to do so).

What pro sports are in town? Does it have a Bass Pro Shop? What's the transit system like? How about the skyline? Is the economy service-based or is there heavy industry? When was the city founded? Is the population diverse? Do any of these things matter that much to you...or are other attributes of a great city more important?

I'll start coloring in this tabula rasa....

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The City's name is Paradopolis.

Be kind to her...and her inhabitants.

[hood]

The city should be on at least one navigatable waterway, preferably a major river.

[dtown]

the city should be in a flat,fertile valley

[TBurban]

It should have an even mix between old and new buildings.

[damus]

It should have an even mix between old and new buildings.

It will have an 8 lane superhighway cutting through the center

[Recchia]

It will have an 8 lane superhighway cutting through the center

Ahh! You ruined it!

It should have a thriving downtown boulevard with abundant retail, restaurants and nightclubs with apartments and condos above them.

[cheeriokid61]

There is a plan going on similar to the big dig that will soon bury the superhighway going through the city.

[cmj2k5]

It shall have no Wal-marts, Targets, or any other coorporate box store.

[Inkdaub]

It will have an 8 lane superhighway cutting through the center

I thought we were supposed to make the city better?

[SouthParkRocks]

the city should be in a flat,fertile valley

The city should have a mix of interesting topography-just flat would not make it too easy to incorporate a static boring grid I think. Better to have a mostly grid city broken up by natural elements to make it just a bit unpredictable.

[dtown]

well, lets say its a river valley then, with hills surrounding it, and a moderatly sized river to break up the grid.

[GvilleSC]

There are smart growth plans in place to avoid endless sprawl.

[TheBostonian]

Housing is affordable in the city's wide variety of ethnic communities.

[PAboyBJR70]

The skyline shall contain a mix of classic masonry skyscrapers and well-designed modern glass and steel skyscrapers with only a few Brutalist structures and limited wide open, empty, lifeless plazas that were popular during the urban redevelopment days of the 1960s and 1970s.

[masons_dad1]

The city should have a large regional park with many nature features and family attractions within it and be located within walking distance of the urban core.

[pdxstreetcar]

These few brutalist skyscrapers as well as most of the lifeless plazas are being readied for demolition as we speak to make way for beautiful rail/subway stations as part of what is planned to be the best mass transit system in the world (2 birds with one stone ).

[waccamatt]

The city will have no enclosed malls, only area shopping villages similar to Five Points here in Columbia and Georgetown in DC.

[suburban george3]

The city shall be extremely safe, and have small neighborhood oriented schools that parents walk their children to in the morning.

[Inkdaub]

The city should have at least one major university and a well planned out system of community colleges.

[lexicon506]

The city shall have multiple train stations that connect it to many locations throughout the country. These train stations shall be connected by a fast monorail, which also connects to the international airport.

[Snowguy716]

The city's utilities are owned and operated by a cooperative that shares profits among its members. It shall buy 50% of its electricity from outside companies and produce the other 50% through renewable means.

The city shall also have strict recycling and trash sorting laws to minimize waste.

[cheeriokid61]

There should be an efficient subway system in the downtown area that goes to all the major points of interest.

[DigitalSky]

The city shall be devoid of any cul-de-sacs whatsoever.

[NcSc74]

It should have grid neighborhoods of rowhouses. With corner grocers and small mom n pop stores.

[krazeeboi]

This city shall have an excellent, top-notch public school system. No poverty, crime, or form of discrimination shall exist here (it is a perfect city after all).