Show Us Your Anti-Grid!

[EffTheGrid 3,726]

I can't keep anything straight anymore :/

[TheMurderousCricket 5,107]

2 minutes ago, EffTheGrid said:

I can't keep anything straight anymore :/

Outstanding! A city artistry!

[EffTheGrid 3,726]

Thanks. Here’s more!

grab my cape cod houses to get the same effect

[Haljackey 17,398]

Squiggles!

[Vitoraju 675]

On 29/09/2021 at 2:09 PM, EffTheGrid said:

I can't keep anything straight anymore :/

Wow! I like this anti-grid and the suburbies! Congratulations!  <3 

 

 

@The British Sausage I like this picture also! I love the "fazendinha" (Portuguese nickname for cute farm)! 

[Ssaidd 1,367]

On 1-10-2021 at 3:32 PM, EffTheGrid said:

Thanks. Here’s more!

grab my cape cod houses to get the same effect

what a nice peacefull neighbourhood 

[NateKC 107]

Here's two large suburban city tiles I'm building out.

The first city is built on a hill and has quite a few grade changes.

A new area being readied for development. Took some time to get the grade just right on all these FA interchanges. The end result was very satisfying!

Here's the second city, which is located on the outskirts of the region. I tried breaking up the grid in this one with a combination of curved streets and fractionally angled roads, rails and highways.

[20huskies 4,699]

Can’t believe I didn’t know of this thread till now.  These are awesome anti-grid designs!

[Haljackey 17,398]

Busting the grid

 

 

[20huskies 4,699]

Starting to use the anti-grid more

[20huskies 4,699]

Neighborhoods of Kumajima in autumn.

[dgplex 39]

Not exactly full grid-breaking, but placing parks in my neighbourhoods breaks up the monotony of the grid quite well, I think.

On 12/30/2021 at 3:28 AM, NateKC said:

Here's two large suburban city tiles I'm building out.

The first city is built on a hill and has quite a few grade changes.

I really like some of the grid-breaking you've done here, good job

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

[SIM-ple Jack 17,450]

[simmering 2,743]

 

 

 

[EffTheGrid 3,726]

Hi - I'd just like to enter the chat and show you all how this parcel came to be developed over many years. Please excuse my lack of historical photos but I'll do my best to diagram it out, in case it's not obvious from the air. Starting from regional view, here's the area we're looking up-close at today: Grove Point 

Our focus is on the western side of this skinny seaside peninsula, situated between the ocean and a minor regional shipping channel.

It's a few miles from the downtown and historical hub of the city, so the beachfront land was developed around the turn of the 20th century into bucolic streetcar suburbs of a bustling portside city. The eastern sliver of the peninsula is occupied by the City of Portsmouth - though the areas are very tightly knit and interdependent, residents can feel at-odds with one-another due to differences in class, geography, lifestyle and access to amenities.

These are the Portsmouth Beaches - represented below are 4 distinct areas with different governing bodies, and vibes.

Who can see the borders from space?

Here's a closer look:

There are 4 main players. From the north, there's:

(The Village of) Grove Point: Centuries ago, this was a historic fishing outpost, which later turned into a desirable streetcar suburb, and later, boardwalk destination. The village was chartered before any suburban development encroached on its natural beauty, and locals enjoyed 100 years of quiet seaside life among egrets and the spray. After another 100 years of overdevelopment, the streetcars have stopped running and beachgoers turn to the more accessible Ft. Pontus beaches to the south. Now "the point" is mainly comprised of working-class residents, and retirees----they appreciate access to unspoiled beaches and a friendly downtown --- and they don't mind the lead in the pipes or the rainbow sheen on the water.

Portsmouth City: Represented on the eastern-adjacent tile, this city is the industrial nexus of the Western Channel ---- it is a rail terminus and seaport hub, and residents are primarily lower-income unskilled workers. The city is more densely developed ---- the city had different regulations and zoning codes in place, and much of the (not-pictured) inner city came up earlier --- however the western portion of the city represented here was developed around the same time as the adjacent beach towns. West Portsmouth is often decried as the "snobby" neighborhood by Eastern and Old Ward residents ---- but it's a cultural hub----there's mixed crowd with some big bucks walking down Division Avenue nowadays. Some people move to "Div" for the "street cred" of having a Portsmouth address, while enjoying a luxurious lifestyle.

You can see how businesses were built along the historic old streetcar routes, and development sprawled from there.

Town of Portsmouth Beach: Anybody from Portsmouth Beach will be quick to correct you if you wrongly assert they're from Portsmouth ----- the audacity! Portsmouth Beach prides itself on being everything its neighbors are not - it's a secluded, snobby enclave. The streets are wooded, and the homes are mostly single-family and evenly spaced. The town is centered around a reclaimed tidal marsh, providing a site to develop 70-acres of parkland. The freshwater lake drains through an underwater culvert to the ocean, providing drainage to the town's highlands, which ascend the wooded bluff to the north, overlooking the ocean and the point. Where there are not direct ocean views, residents enjoy looking over the ridge to the bay and the city skyline to the east.

The development style changes quickly when crossing city borders.

Fort Pontus is a sprawling coastal city to the south of the tile whose tendrils crept up to the boundary line of Portsmouth. The more dense housing is reflective of the offerings there.

I loved developing this tile because it was a joy to reflect on the influences that would shape each network and each block.

First I drew arterials and then I connected them as if I was purchasing the land to develop in parcels.

Here's a diagram of the process of connecting the village of grove point in a way that was cohesive and realistic. 

I started with a grid of tight roads then connected them to existing networks, while acknowledging natural features along the way. That's it!  

This was a real challenge as to figuring out a beautiful and realistic gradient of density to pursue in connecting a harsh urban setting with bucolic seaside highlands. 

One of my favorite small moments is the north end of Division Avenue. If a driver turns right into Portsmouth, they will see smokestacks and warehouses across the water when they complete their turn. But if they make a left into Grove Point, they will see a pretty patch of trees, then a leveed freshwater pond through the forest. It's just a thoughtful nuance that implies a total change of scenery, and destination, and sense of place. All for an imagined border down the middle of a road.

cheers! 

[Lucario Boricua 7,050]

Don't really post there, but realized that I just enabled one more tool for the anti-grid arsenal!

 

As part of the recent content development happening parallel to NAM 49, additional crossing options were added between the Road and Rail networks, and I noticed one of these crossings, FA-2 road with orthogonal double track RealRailway, was very incomplete! No paths to let anyone through!

 

 

Just today I have a draft version of the path fixes...

 

 

And it works! Gonna make sure this is available for everyone to enjoy once NAM 49 is available to players!      

 

  Edited February 10, 2025 by CaptCity  

[EffTheGrid 3,726]

Presenting: Hemden

a work in progress

Named for the area around the Hemden Creek, this tile encompasses a swath containing diverse topography and essential city infrastructure.

The grid is laid out with NW-SE roads for the local roads, E-W streets for local streets, and NE-SW arterials for connections to the downtown core of the city.

Diagonally, middle of the map is sliced in half by 2 highways, the (unfinished junction of the) Inner Belt Parkway and the Central Artery.

Take a look at how the highway has both torn apart the interconnected fabric of the city, and created new enclaves with distinct boundaries.

Moving west, the inner-city

Here we can see the 6 Points area, with Goniffs Point Ave running orthogonally at an angle north and south.

This area is a major industrial corridor, with hundreds of warehouse and commercial spaces in the district between Rosemond Avenue and the expressway.

Not only is the highway a major industrial corridor, but also are the flats down by the industrial kill.

This is reclaimed swampland. Land is at a premium.

6 Points is also the main entrance into the Goniffs Point section.

It's densely residential, and working class. The area spans the corners of 3 separate tiles so it's often neglected and lacks good services.

And just a short float over the Hemden Creek is the historical Hemden Mill Town, now designated the historic Milltown District.

Residents in this area might actually enjoy the seclusion the highways bring. Thanks to sound walls,  strict local zoning rules and historical building covenants make sure their side of the creek remains relatively calm and unchanged, as the city expands all around.

Old single family houses are prevalent ---- and most homes have their own yards. The "president streets" enjoy townhouse living and tight walkable blocks while "tree streets" enjoy convenient access to the Inner Parkway marginal road!

The "tree streets" were originally not part of Milltown, but built later on as the "Chestnut Park" development. A scenic parkway with a wide tree-lined median was constructed down the middle of the neighborhood, called Chestnut Parkway.

Many years later when the freeway was routed, the Chestnut Park alignment was chosen for several reasons:

1.  because home values here were proportionally low here at the time,
2.  the neighborhood was comparatively less densely settled than the blocks east and west.
3.  the grassy parkway provided an easy center for the route's right of way.

There was much outcry from residents --- and yet, the freeways came through anyway.

Still, many homes and several businesses were raised to run the highway through, and many say Chestnut Hill lost its character and identity, in its namesake tree-lined boulevard.

I will show more as the map develops! Other areas are still incomplete.

Thanks for watching  

[Haljackey 17,398]

Have no idea what I'm doing

  Edited January 7 by CaptCity  
Added a modified image for homepage display.

[EffTheGrid 3,726]

I've been filling in my southern Suburbs lately:

This is a bit of a blighted area. 

This is what the region looks like: 

The main city tile is further north, and still under development as I decide how to tell its story. 

I love the ballpark, and the ridiculous highway.  

Can't wait to keep plugging on this one. Been a few years in the making.

Taking cues from Boston, SF, and Lower Manhattan when crafting elements of the downtown district

[Jeffrey500 567]

Rural Duffelt

[EffTheGrid 3,726]

Housing developments by the highway. Pure suburbs

[Lab Rat 16]

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[EffTheGrid 3,726]

Sunrise - inspired by the Sunrise Highway