[OT] Map Question ...

[Angelsboi]

ok heres a map/math question.

Ok - What is big enough for a town (population 740)? Im sucky at math. Im trying to draw a map for my town (population 740). All i know is that the graph paper im using its:

4 squares to an inch
30 squares up and 28 squares across

And so far have come up with this:
1 square = ?? feet

Help?

 

[Hand of Evil]

always go up by 10...

so 1 square = 10 feet indoors
now 1 square = 100 feet outdoors

This way if you created a building you can then map the inside and keep things to scale.

 

[Umbran]

It rather depends - usually for a fantasy world, the town population isnt just the people who live in the town proper, but all people who view the town as their local economic center - the town population includes all the outlying farms and such.

In general, small, rural towns tend to be sprawling things. People don't jam their buildings close together unless they have to (say, so they can al fit within a protective wall). Give us a better idea of what the town is all about, and we might be able to give a better answer...

 

[Angelsboi]

Thats not exactly what i was asking ... i was thinking .. How big (feet) should the town be? What is considered 'Just right.'

 

[Umbran]

Wait, this is ofr Darkenshire, yes? Didn't see it down teh page. Give me a moment, and let me review it...

 

[Angelsboi]

Yes, its for the logging/farming community of Darkenshire. Darkenshire is enclosed around a protective stone wall but has some farms around the area.

 

[Desdichado]

Tell us more. No reason why Darkenshire has to have the optimum size within the walls. Chances are it wouldn't, actually. Old European towns were very organic in their growth, not planned like many more modern, New World towns that have nice grid-like streets and the like. Was the wall built for the same population that the town now enjoys, or has the population changed since then? If it has shrunk, each household may have more room; large houses with many empty rooms, for instance. If it has grown, then most likely the houses and buildings are all cramped tightly in the wall, and likely more buildings have been added outside the wall if the town has continued to grow past the point that the wall can contain. That is the model of most European towns today: the walls often still exist (or at least the gates) but the town has completely surrounded them.

 

[Angelsboi]

The map question is legit but follows this topic here:

Darkenshire

 

[Hand of Evil]

Let me see if I can find some info but I think I heard somewhere 1 acre would produce enough food for 7 people in the middle ages now taking into fact this is fantasy and magic (druids) I could see doubling that. 1 acre feeding 14 people, or 480 square feet (is that right?)

So, for feeding a population of 800 you would need 57 acres of land or 27,360 square feet. This would be 273 squares on graph paper where 1 square = 100 feet. Most of this would be land outside of town.

Now a town of 740 average 4 to a household gives you 185 homes. As this is a farming/lumbering town most people would be lower middleclass to middle class and have at least a three room home of 30 square feet. So all the homes in the town would take up 5550 square feet or 55.5 squares on graph paper where 1 square = 100 feet. Larger building larger footprint.

Now the town will not be grouped together but would follow a road or a river. A quarter of a mile is more than enough space to cover your town.

 

[Jasperak]

If I read Medieval Demographics correctly, the village proper would have about 61 people per acre or 150 per hectare. I am still at work but I will put up the link for you when I get home. I have also been interested in mapping medieval towns properly. I think a town of about 1,500 has a side of about 500 feet. I cannot remember. I will check when I get home.

Edit because ICRS