5 ms·
Cities grow around something. In the past, that "something" has generally been a point-specific natural resource that can be exploited. Natural harbors, conflue
by zrail 5y ago
Cities grow around something. In the past, that "something" has generally been a point-specific natural resource that can be exploited. Natural harbors, confluences of rivers, mines, etc. Sometimes cities grow around point-specific artificial resources like crossroads.
Sometimes there are resources that are exploited but everyone knows that the resource is very temporary so a city doesn't really grow. Instead, a town forms but never plants roots. For example, the small cities across the Bakken Formation which grew huge transitory populations but no one stays because everyone there knows when the price of oil shifts the Bakken will become unprofitable.
The important thing is attempting to plant a city in the middle of nowhere almost always fails absent very strong government incentives. Washington DC is sort of like that, where it was put where it is because of very strong political incentives (Virginia and Maryland didn't want that land). Brasilia is the other example that jumps to mind, where they wanted the seat of government away from Rio and forced the issue.
- 323 5y ago> Cities grow around something. Today that resource could just be "cheap land". We don't need coal or iron today, we need housing. > very strong government incentives Could "cheap housing" be such an incentive?
- spacemanmatt 5y agoLast I checked, those resources are water and roads (or promises of roads). But people can't live without water and don't keep building where they can't get it.
- MisterBastahrd 5y agoYou can have all the empty space you want to build on, but if it doesn't have water or electricity, it will continue to be empty. Modern societies rely on modern infrastructure.
- 323 5y agoDo you think someone building a new city will not connect it to the grid and think about the water?
- larsiusprime 5y agoThey will certainly try, but if they pick the wrong spot it will be prohibitively expensive compared to other locations and so they will be more inclined to pick another location, and the market price of the land will price this all in
- aardvarkr 5y agoThat's exactly the point. Where do you think water comes from? You can't just build a city in the middle of the desert. In order for it to be sustainable you need it located next to a lake or river or other large source of freshwater that's easily exploited. Water is a natural resource just like any other.
- MisterBastahrd 5y agoThe reason that major cities are where they are is because either there's a ton of traffic that flows through the area OR because they were the highest, easiest point to build on near a major source of fresh water. So no, they're not going to just appear because you build a city there. That's not how cities or infrastructure work.
- deepnotderp 5y ago> We don't need coal or iron today Yes, who uses steel anymore? /s
- fragmede 5y agoAll of us, but the Swedish are doing it without using coal or other fossile fuels. [0] Iron's going to be a bit harder to remove from the process though ;) [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/2021/08/19/how-sweden-delivered-the-worlds-first-fossil-fuel-free-steel/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/2021/08/19/how-swe...
- a45a33s 5y agomy dad lives in a "master planned" community in the middle of nowhere in the desert centered around a man made lake that needs to get refilled periodically. the weird thing is that 20 years later its actually much more populated and thriving
- zrail 5y agoWould you be willing to share what brings people there? Is it a retirement community?
- a45a33s 5y agojust a development for families, with some amenities like community center, pools etc. you can get a very large house for not so much money. it honestly is fairly nice, visiting used to seem depressing when I was younger but now when I visit with my kids it seems like not a bad place for a family to grow up in.
- danans 5y ago> in the middle of nowhere in the desert centered around a man made lake that needs to get refilled periodically. How is that refilling paid for? What source of water does it draw from?
- mikem170 5y agoAre there jobs nearby? Do most people have far to commute? I imagine that things may have changed a bit over the years, depending how big the development was perhaps it was the catalyst for more development?
- nradov 5y agoWe should build a major new city at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. It seems like an ideal location.
- Dracophoenix 5y ago>Cities grow around something. In the past, that "something" has generally been a point-specific natural resource that can be exploited. Natural harbors, confluences of rivers, mines, etc. Sometimes cities grow around point-specific artificial resources like crossroads. They can also grow around political and religious motivations like the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, the utopian experiment of New Harmony, Indiana, etc.
- zrail 5y agoMassachusetts Bay Colony formed around a natural harbor that was already in use by native americans. The others I'll grant you.
- inglor_cz 5y agoStarbase, TX, seems to have a good reason to grow.