Arcology city or a quasi-modern shire (RAR!)

[Purple]

That was my initial thought. For a theoretical 10 foot deep unit, you'd have as much balcony as room. The problem is that 10 feet isn't enough for most interior uses - simple galley kitchens are 7 feet minimum, queen beds are 6x7, couches are 7 or so; you'd have a unit that is essentially a hallway with all the fixtures on either side. That's apparently neither here nor there though, I did it wrong earlier and the resulting space is easily configured as a 1-bedroom + den unit (No enough exterior windows on what could easily be a 2-3 bed unit; traditionally you need windows in living spaces and bedrooms). For the cramped units, you're definitely going to have some units with no exterior sides, and all of them are essentially prison cells or 5th-element units - you'd barely have room for a microwave, screen, refrigerator, toilet/shower and fold-away bed. My (admittedly shared) dorm room was bigger, and obviously you'd have multi-individual units that allow some greater flexibility.

Prison cell sized rooms? Shared dorms? You do realize that you are designing hell?

[Jub]

That would work, but at some point you loose the pyramid shape. Every unit having a similar stud wouldn't do anything though. Shoot, it might be best to make a stepped pyramid.

I'd be picturing something like a series tight spirals with a floor of space between them. The other outer spaces could let light into green spaces, offices, and other non-residential spaces that would want natural lighting.

[Guardsman Bass]

I'd go with the Neo-Shire. I'm not much of a farmer, but I like suburban living and steam trains, and I'm probably well enough off as a landlord to be one of the 5 million people with internet access (hence the imported laptop). If the health care is solid in at least the cities then I'm golden - I can make periodic trips into one of them (or a larger town) for shopping.

To be perfectly honest, if I was in that situation, I'd contract with someone to manage my rental properties and go live at least part of the year in one of the low-impact cities - they sound pretty nice, not too big and not too small, with good health care and almost certainly better entertainment and internet access. Maybe I'd go live in the Hobbit Hole during the summers.

Question: You say that there's no real internet connection with the Hive Cities millions of kilometers. Do we still get people transmitting over copies of their entertainment, books, etc digitally from time to time on radio signals? That could actually be okay - you'd have to download lots of stuff instead of streaming it on to your laptop, but otherwise it would alright.

[Me2005]

That was my initial thought. For a theoretical 10 foot deep unit, you'd have as much balcony as room. The problem is that 10 feet isn't enough for most interior uses - simple galley kitchens are 7 feet minimum, queen beds are 6x7, couches are 7 or so; you'd have a unit that is essentially a hallway with all the fixtures on either side. That's apparently neither here nor there though, I did it wrong earlier and the resulting space is easily configured as a 1-bedroom + den unit (No enough exterior windows on what could easily be a 2-3 bed unit; traditionally you need windows in living spaces and bedrooms). For the cramped units, you're definitely going to have some units with no exterior sides, and all of them are essentially prison cells or 5th-element units - you'd barely have room for a microwave, screen, refrigerator, toilet/shower and fold-away bed. My (admittedly shared) dorm room was bigger, and obviously you'd have multi-individual units that allow some greater flexibility.

Prison cell sized rooms? Shared dorms? You do realize that you are designing hell?

Only if each building has the million or so people that Zor implies they should have, and not the 150,000 that he states they have, and 3/4 of those units would not see the light of day unless essentially all the units are interior and all exterior space is public. Oh, and only if we deduct 99% of the interior space for structure, utilities, public spaces, and transportation; which is actually probably ridiculous; and at the still probably excessive 95% you'd get a reasonable studio or one-bedroom-sized unit. If every person just gets a plot in the pyramid and no thought is given to transit or business or education or whatever you've got ~13,000 s.f. (~1/4 acre) per.

With the 150,000 number you've got a two-three-bedroom-apartment-sized unit with a view to yourself even if 99% of the interior space is used for something else. And yes, I realize the million number would be cramped. Especially with 8 foot ceilings.

[Purple]

Only if each building has the million or so people that Zor implies they should have, and not the 150,000 that he states they have, and 3/4 of those units would not see the light of day unless essentially all the units are interior and all exterior space is public.

Light is irrelevant. That's why I newer mentioned it. The real killer is the absolute lack of personal space. Prisons are built that way for a reason.

With the 150,000 number you've got a two-three-bedroom-apartment-sized unit with a view to yourself even if 99% of the interior space is used for something else. And yes, I realize the million number would be cramped. Especially with 8 foot ceilings.

What is 8 of your feet in metric? I am too sick to do a conversion.

[Jub]

What is are 8 of your feet in metric?

Around 2.4 m.

[Me2005]

What is 8 of your feet in metric? I am too sick to do a conversion.

The biggest reason I like imperial units is this: 1 foot is generally approximated as 1 (man's) foot. Your hand held up is about 4". Your elbow to the top of your fist is ~18" or 1.5 feet. A stride is usually a yard (3 feet). Anyway, 8 feet is probably your height plus a little more than 1/3 of your height, and is pretty much a minimum ceiling height for new construction. Or, you know, 2.4 meters.

[Simon_Jester]

Alternatively, for those of us who can cope with fractions and proportions:

Ten feet is three meters, nine pounds is four kilograms, and five miles is eight kilometers. All of the above are accurate to within 1 or 2%.