A large month after the last update, I'll give you a new, 3-tier update. The first is about adding a new map, provided with the tools from Cimtographer. As you can probably see, the images' locations are also added, including this update.
To start, I made a few nice looking images of Bosmonde, including 2 of the cities bigger monuments. The first one is an enlargement of an atom, built for the world expo to celebrate universal science, the belief in technological progress, and to show determination for a better future. I didn't make this up, the original one in Brussels was built with this idea.
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The second one is a hyperbolic cosinus, built for less ideological purposes, but to attract residents to the other side of the big black lake of Bosmonde. In some way, it is a symbol for the suburbs. In origin, medieval times, the city was the safe place where one could have a job, study, where the the city was governed, etc, etc... Outside the city (walls) there was no law, there were the more simpler jobs such as farming, mining, etc. In some way, in Bosmonde, across the lake was where the poor people lived and which was an unsafe place. Since then, the role between city and countryside has changed drastically, with industrialisation and such, and by now we are as far that 'outside' the city has levelled up towards at least as promising as the city itself. I think, this cosinus symbolizes the gap that has been closed.
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Notice how in both images the infrastructure plays an important role in the image. Both technological progress and suburbanization were fuelled by good infrastructure.
I would like to show you more about the suburban areas of Bosmonde. Like many larger cities, Bosmonde has tremendous area's filled up with patchworks of family houses, parks and recreational area's, urban services and so on. But because Bosmonde also has this ambition to grow to an even bigger city, it is intensifying within it's urban borders, before annexing neighboring smaller cities. On this particular outskirt you can see one of the tactics used. As you can see, the density for housing (and also shopping) is mixed between low and high density. The bigger roads, the avenues connecting various neighborhoods, making the long stretches troughout the city, have an higher density, while the area's behind these roads are zoned in a lower density. Parks and public functions are spread through the whole area, not creating one big neighborhood center, but various smaller ones.
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On this next image you can see how this mix between low and high density plays out. This way, the city of Bosmonde can offer various types of housing to various types of households, with various types of financial means within one neighborhood, thus trying to keep mixed neighborhoods. Because this specific area is next to interstate highway, a green buffer was created. It is mostly for walking and small games only, the parks with a 'program', such as sports or specific picknick or bbq fields can be found in the neighborhoods itself. Also notice the few pedestrian bridge on the left side of the image, creating connections between separated neighborhoods.
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Now, I would like to take you to a piece of Bosmonde's heritage, one of it's former estates, Napoleon estate. Now I can see you thinking, where is it? what is this for? Well, you are looking at the beginning of the drive towards the Napoleon estate. It is quite a long one.
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Here it is. As you can see, much of it's land has been sold off, like the Duke's estate earlier in this City Journal, but the crown jewels are still there, The land that was sold off has been developed into a well-off residential area. The drive towards the estate is still intact, and so are a few of it's gardens.
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And most importantly, the estate still has it's view over the lake, and in the far distance, the city of Bosmonde, from the left wing of the building.
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Why was this estate called after Napoleon, a French ruler of the 18th century? Maybe you noticed the similarities of the estate with the royal palace in Amsterdam. This original building, which (in real life) wasn't an estate or a palace, but was originally built as the city hall of Amsterdam during it's golden century. At that time, it was the largest building in the world. But when France (Napoleon) invaded the Netherlands, he changed the purpose of the building into his own private palace. After the French invaders left again, the Dutch were free, but the original function of the building was never restored, as it is property of the royal family now, who uses this building nowadays to host formal events and welcome foreign guests.
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Thanks for stopping by, and as always, comments are appreciated!
FYI: The map on the first page has been edited to show the position of the latest images.
