# How to run a city

Anyone can run a city, but the only way to run a city *well* is by consulting history:

- Many time-tested techniques have worked in every urban center throughout history.
- Many [progressive](politics-conservativeliberal.md) city planners may imagine these don't apply due to [technology](technology.md) changes and [trends](people-trends.md).
  - However, human nature hasn't changed that fast over centuries, and technology simply adapts elements (e.g., horse tie posts vs. parking spots)
- Also, history has proven many techniques that *don't* work.
- This is also easier said than done, mostly because there are many [political](politics-systems.md) circumstances where failing spectacularly can win an election through blaming the opposition.

Avoid oversimplified models.

- Many ideas work well in theory, but fail because they don't accommodate basic aspects of [human nature](humanity.md) or [well-tested design principles](engineering-design.md).
- Every single decision *will* create negative externalities in some form.
  - Any attempt to engineer against those collateral effects will create *more* negative externalities.
  - The simpler version is to keep everything simpler, but it's easier said than done.
- In particular, [simulation and management games](fun-games-cs.md) like SimCity, Cities: Skylines, and Democracy can give a false confidence over a solution's efficacy.

## Balancing tradeoffs

Each city can only have two of three major benefits to its citizens:

1. Stable services
2. Low taxes
3. Low population density

While they may *seem* attainable, they all have tradeoffs:

1. Stable services and low taxes means there are many people paying low taxes.
2. Low taxes and low population density mean the services are underfunded.
3. Stable services and low population density mean the services absolutely *must* be subsidized.

## Regional differences

[Culture](people-culture.md) dominates how we behave relative to others, but population density has a "soft" effect because of specialization on the general disposition of a region.

Rural

- Often governed by broad [rules](people-rules.md) and honors the [implications](mind-feelings.md) of those boundaries.
- Most people get most of their [news](stories-storytellers.md) days, weeks, or months after the event happens.
- The people value autonomy (self-determined [decisions](mind-decisions.md)) over interdependence.
- Most available services are very limited from how few specialists are competing for [work](results.md), and most people have a plethora of general skills to take care of tasks themselves.
- Everyone tends to speak more quietly and slower, and has a type of "free" [disposition](people-personality.md).
- They tend to be very [understanding](understanding.md) and [self-aware](mind-awareness.md) from having lots of time to think and observe.

Urban

- Tightly managed [rules](people-rules.md) with many, many exceptions and clarifications.
- Most people receive [news](stories-storytellers.md) almost as soon as it happens.
- The people value interdependence and dependence over autonomy.
- Generally, there are *many* people competing for services, but individuals don't often have the means or skill to do things themselves, and must often [trust](understanding-certainty.md) everyone else.
- Everyone tends to speak very loud and fast, and has a certain "caged" [disposition](people-personality.md).
- Their strength is in setting [priorities](success-3_goals.md) well, but they're *awful* at managing the competing flows of information.

Suburban

- Clear-cut [rules](people-rules.md) of urban with the [implications](mind-feelings.md) of rural.
- Most people get all the [news](stories-storytellers.md) within a day or two.
- Interdependence and autonomy are balanced out.
- Services are frequent, but individuals can do many things themselves as well.
- Everyone speaks moderately fast with a varying volume, and gives the most variety of [disposition](people-personality.md).

Our preference of population density comes from how much we value [privacy versus convenience](safety.md). Most of these preferences express as [rituals](habits.md) involving physical and emotional distance.

The [cultural](people-culture.md) mix of a city is difficult to [measure](math.md), but most people can [feel](mind-feelings.md) it. Each person is contributing to that city proportional to the [power](power.md) they possess, so the city has a "heartbeat" of its [style](mind-creativity.md) based on how everyone [acts out](results.md) the [collective values](values.md) everyone [believes](understanding-certainty.md).

APPLICATION: The three population density groups have irreconcilable differences in [value](values.md) systems:

- Above a certain threshold, everyone *must* depend on others, but below a certain threshold, everyone *must* be self-sufficient.
- More population creates more [trends](people-trends.md) and [conflicts of opinion](people-conflicts-why.md), so bigger cities are *far* more [liberal](politics-conservativeliberal.md) than the countryside.

## Multi-region

Generally, [trends](people-trends.md) move outward from denser areas. In a well-connected society with lots of [communication](people-conversation.md) [technology](technology.md), each city's specialization will house the leadership of specific [multi-nation groups](groups-large.md).

The most [legitimately powerful](power-types.md) people live in or near the capital city of a country, so the [culture](people-culture.md) (and, when applicable, the selection) of that capital city has a *profound* impact on the rest of the nation's [trends](people-trends.md).

Frequently, [trends](people-trends.md) will move across many regions at once, often jumping between them as rapidly as leaders become aware of and adopt them. In a sense, those trends will give [power](power-types.md) to the original [creator](mind-creativity.md) of the trend, which will ripple outward to that person's specialized group and the surrounding people that the creator contacts.

The climate of a region defines more than almost anything else. Unbearable weather requires people to be tenacious, and easily accessible resources make a happy and relaxed group.

Once the [technology](technology.md) of a group becomes large enough, the [group](groups-large.md) can connect and meet across an extremely vast region. However, it never *entirely* removes the need for geographical closeness.

## Traffic management

At some point, stop signs are inadequate for traffic.

- When autos have about 3-5 vehicles backed-up at a stop sign, then it is absolutely critical to use another solution.

Any expansion of a location from a stop sign will create a "stroad".

- It will have been a street, where people once carried out a lifestyle.
- However, the traffic expansion will make the former street into a type of road, where people move quickly to get from one point to another.
- The stroad diminishes property values and reduces the quality of life, further magnifying any [class distinctions](classes.md) that would normally come from urbanization.

The simplest solution is to introduce a traffic light.

- For each 4-way traffic light, every vehicle traveling through it has 32 points of potential contact with another vehicle in a collision.
- Further, people will often run the light, so law enforcement will have more intervention work to maintain order.

While it takes more effort to build, a roundabout can work better than a traffic light.

- In a 4-way roundabout, there are only 8 possible collision points.
- When implemented correctly, a roundabout will allow the right of way to drivers presently inside the traffic circle.
- While some people may make continuous loops in the roundabout, this freedom is worth the tradeoff of giving the drivers the liberty to circle around again if they missed the turn they were trying to get to.

The most reliable solution to traffic congestion involves adding new highways and roads.

- To ensure the public's adoption, these roads must be vastly superior to the side roads.
- Inside the city, avoid using toll roads or the public won't adopt it unless their lifestyle justifies it.

The most complex solution to traffic congestion, and by far the proven worst option, is to socially engineer mass transit.

- All forms of mass transit are expensive to build and maintain.
  - Buses are the cheapest, but require a fleet with driver staff and support staff.
  - All rail options require tremendous amounts of construction and maintenance, with elevated and underground rail costing even more.
- The [culture](people-culture.md) also plays a role, since people will often maintain what they know over an unfamiliar and superior solution.
  - In other words, many people will opt to pay more to commute with their car for 60 minutes than take a 45-minute train commute with 15 minutes to wait for it.
- Further, financing mass transit is almost guaranteed to come through government subsidy.
  - Most people who have money will opt to drive or take a taxi.
  - The poorest people will typically not pay for mass transit when the fare is at-cost.
- Develop mass transit as the demand arises (e.g., city council complaints, focus groups).