Unlikely Settlements on Earth

[TT1]

Hey guys!

Although only recently entered in CG, I admire the work of all of you from months. Since I resumed my RPG project, I have tried to shape my world and my towns, and in few weeks here already learned a lot thanks to the beautiful topics and discussions that exist in the history of this forum. And in this I am very grateful to all of you.

However, there are a few things I have thought about build in my world, that are beyond the general rule. It is clear that the vast majority of cities should follow a basic standard of construction, motivation and terrain, but I would like to encourage the new and old creators to think in a somewhat unexpected and diverse. There are several settlements on Earth itself, which seem to escape the very commonplace. I've been trying to think of how to escape some of the rules in some of the cities I'm planning.

Apparently, humans are quite brave and bold, building things anywhere. Seriously, truth, there are cities in the most unlikely and crazy places you might think, of all forms and on all continents of the world, for the most diverse reasons (some of which I can not even understand). I want to leave this inspiration and discussion of some of them: we need not always follow a pattern and probably a bold city in a fantasy world can be a very nice place (Sigil in Planescape, for example). People live in burrows, mines, caves, holes on hillsides ... people live anywhere that has a shelter from the dangers of their world.

People are creative.


I separated a few places for you. I hope you enjoy and be inspired.


1) Mount Merapi (Indonesia)


500,000 people living on the slopes of an extremely active volcano and a molten sulfur lake. Sure, why not?

https://mountmerapi.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/ng2.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aflhkp7s_e...00/2172843.jpg
https://besteastjavatransport.files....ah-ijenn-2.jpg
https://www.google.com.br/search?q=I...ih=899#imgrc=_


2) La Rinconada (Peru)


50,000 people living without sanitation and no garbage collection at 5.400m of altitude in search of gold.

"...they work for 30 days without payment. On the 31st day they are allowed to take with them as much ore as they can carry on their shoulders. Whether the ore contains any gold or not is a matter of luck."

"The city has no plumbing and no sanitation system. Besides having no sewage system there is significant contamination with mercury due to the mining practices. Local miners refine the ore by grinding and treating it with mercury and pressing the mass through a cloth to filter it. The resulting amalgam is heated to remove the mercury."

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...conadapuno.JPG
http://bucket1.glanacion.com/anexos/...19/1996819.jpg


3) Bláa lónið (Iceland)


A geothermal spa, located a blue lagoon in a lava field in Iceland.

http://www.gulalinan.is/files/blaalonid_376598667.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/p...m/45949385.jpg


4) Ittoqqortoormiit (Greenland)


450 people living in a distant place, inhospitable and hunting polar bears. (Nice name, by the way)

https://goo.gl/maps/UD427jKArvM2
http://coolestgalleries.com/wp-conte...Greenland.jpeg
https://ssl.panoramio.com/photo_expl...c&user=2316104



5) San Pedro de Atacama (Chile)


A village in the desert, in a 2500m altitude. Precipitation: 10 mm/ year. And nearby volcanoes. Oh, you have a desert of salt too.


http://i2.visitchile.com/fotos/artic...de-atacama.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...luzzi_2006.jpg



6) Amadiya (Iraq)

A city on top of a mountain, only accessible via a staircase carved in stone.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7356/9...5d491bae_b.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...556994047).jpg



7) Tristan da Cunha (UK)


The most remote settlement in the world. An island in the middle of nowhere. No mammals on earth, with little agriculture, no economy. Zero. There is only one flat spot and in the center has a volcano, active. A nice place to live, it seems. But... no, thanks.

http://www.ribacompetitions.com/tris...ven%20Seas.jpg
https://aroundtheredmap.files.wordpr...-cunha-map.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...unha_ASTER.jpg


8 ) Dallol (Ethiopia)

Take a look at these photos.

http://sometimes-interesting.com/wp-.../dallol-10.jpg
http://www.trafficnews.ec/wp-content...iop%C3%ADa.jpg
http://i2.wp.com/sometimes-interesti...llol-pv-01.jpg

Yep, another volcano. Apparently, people love to live in volcanoes (good agriculture, mining fertilizers, etc). One of the most remote places on earth, extremely difficult to access, toxic gases, sulfuric acid lakes, sandstorms and sometimes tornadoes. But, yes, you guessed it, people lived there (now a ghost town).

Annual average temperature: 35°C (the highest in the world)


9) Makoko (Nigeria)


More than 100,000 people living in poor conditions without sanitation, medicine, security and basic survival items in stilt houses.


http://assets2.thecreatorsproject.co...3aa3b42345.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8...-%2BMakoko.jpg
https://olgamuna.files.wordpress.com...2/dsc05426.jpg


10) Aogashima (Japan)


An island and volcanic crater with another crater in the center. Really beautiful, actually.

http://www.tofugu.com/wp-content/upl...2/28485008.jpg
https://sociorocketnewsen.files.word...pg?w=580&h=367


11) Monemvasia (Greece)


A fortified settlement with walls and hidden behind a mountain. Absolutely strategic and unexpected!


http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2HUjbMDlzsE/maxresdefault.jpg
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/2544678/im...E-facebook.jpg
http://www.monemvasia.gr/images/stor...nemvasia43.JPG


PS: I hope I have not done the topic in the wrong place. Many apologies if I have done something wrong or is being repetitive.

[Meshon]

There are some great inspirations for settlements here, thank you for the posting the links and photos. The reasons for these places existing where they do really underlines the fact that, when you're designing a town or city, you need to consider the reason for its existence. It could be military, economic, spiritual or political, or a combination. It might also be interesting to imagine a settlement in a very strange place and then imagine a reason for it to exist. Good things to think about, TT1.

Cheers,
Meshon

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

[snodsy]

Thanks for posting these, I may have to try one of these places, I lean more toward historic or real places in my mapping and these sound great to try, Love Meshon's comments about why.

Are you doing a map of one. Maybe put this thread in the FORUM / MAPPING CHALLENGE SUGGESTIONS, could make for a great challenge someday. Thanks again.

[Larb]

I think my favourite in that list is Makoko.

[Azélor]

Cape Denison is one of my favorite. http://mawsonshuts.antarctica.gov.au/cape-denison

http://www.theguardian.com/science/antarctica-live/2013/dec/20/sea-ice-mawsons-huts-antarctica

Possibly the windiest place on Earth with average winds of 80 km/h. Not quite the coldest place but the winds make up for that.
It was inhabited only for a short period of time.

[TT1]

Cape Denison is one of my favorite. http://mawsonshuts.antarctica.gov.au/cape-denison

http://www.theguardian.com/science/antarctica-live/2013/dec/20/sea-ice-mawsons-huts-antarctica

Possibly the windiest place on Earth with average winds of 80 km/h. Not quite the coldest place but the winds make up for that.
It was inhabited only for a short period of time.

Oh no... look at this! http://www.ibtimes.com/how-visit-col...-earth-1547322

"Temperatures may dive down to -90 degrees Fahrenheit (-67.7 Celsius) and the ground may be permanently frozen, but the remote Siberian locality of Oymyakon contains all the usual haunts of civilization. There’s a bank, post office, schools, playgrounds and even a seasonal airport to welcome the rich and adventurous to the coldest permanently inhabited place on earth. Oymyakon’s 472 residents endure sub-zero temperatures for as many as nine months of the year, though June, July and August herald a welcome respite from the bitter cold. In fact, temperatures in the summer months can skyrocket to 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.6 Celsius) making Oymyakon one of the only places on the planet with a temperature amplitude higher than 180 degrees Fahrenheit (100 Celsius)."

Looks like someone is playing with Fractal Terrains to generate this place. Just crazy.

[Meshon]

The thing that really got me thinking about the "why" was the villages on Mount Merapi. That place is full of mythology, and living in a very spiritually important place could make up for little inconveniences like elevation and lava. Shanty towns might come to be when there is a place that people really want to live, perhaps because the fishing is good (economics) but there isn't enough room. Some of the most isolated settlements could have a political basis, either because a political power sees a strategic need (this also encompasses military) or because someone wants to escape the status quo and define their own territory. Thus they "claim" a place that no one else wants or is even likely to visit. For any settlement it could be a good first start to imagine why the first person who moved there did so. Also, if you're building fantasy cities, keep in mind that there are probably some modern issues that would have less influence on settlements of an earlier time. For example, simple overpopulation is not likely a significant enough reason on its own to drive people to inhospitable climes or marginal terrain.

cheers,
Meshon

[boldloop]

My first (and so far only) map is of a city with volcanoes. No one lives on the volcano, however.

Yet