These creatures are radially symmetric, saltatorial monopeds. They manipulate items using a ring of tentacles around the mouth at the top of the body. They are 2m tall, and can jump 2m high and 5m across. They build their cities and towns underground. How would their towns be designed if they were made to be traversed on foot?
-
$\begingroup$ Are we to assume that they they move almost exclusively jumping? Also, what it thier level of technology? $\endgroup$– NosajimikiJun 17, 2021 at 14:10
-
$\begingroup$ @Nosajimiki They only jump, and have roughly modern tech $\endgroup$– Ichthys KingJun 17, 2021 at 14:18
-
2$\begingroup$ jumping and living underground? Lots of bruises on the heads; did they invent helmets? $\endgroup$– KorvinStarmastJun 17, 2021 at 14:41
-
$\begingroup$ Sartorial monopeds? *sartorial"?. You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means $\endgroup$– PcManJun 17, 2021 at 16:33
-
$\begingroup$ @PcMan I fixed it $\endgroup$– Ichthys KingJun 17, 2021 at 16:40
2 Answers
Depends a lot on their society
Factors that would change the planning is
- the structure of their society (is it stratified? Then you might get very compartimented cities where the place you live depends on social standing. Is it structured around a ruler? Then your city might reflect that. Is it centered around efficiency for a common goal? idem.)
- The history of the city (why was it created? by whom? how did it evolve?). Take human cities for example:
- Paris started as a village on an island on the Seine, then it fused with nearby villages, and expanded through eating up nearby villages. This is very important to understand the organisation of its districts
- New York city has a very different history (different levels of technology when it was created allowed for different buildings. It was planned at the beginning which allowed for the squary patterns etc.). That makes it way more organised in its layout.
What can be inferred from their physique:
- The ceilings will be high (because they move mainly by jumping).
- Since the city is underground, it should be comprised of an arrangement of rooms (big or small). Because of their way of moving, corridors should not be very popular, so there are probably a lot of contingent rooms, and the rooms should be preferentially large and open
- Since they move mainly by jumping, going up and down is generally not much harder than going forward. Therefore the city plan should be fully 3D rather than a succession of 2D floors like humans would do.
Depends on the environment
The organisms matter less than the environment.
We see that on some islands they are battered by cold, hard winds and lots of rain. They often make low homes with the available materials (stone? wood? dirt? A combination?) that excel in wind and rain protection.
We see in mountains with lots of snow that they often have slanted roofs that enable snow and such to continue their journey down, with again just the materials at hand.
In the (warm) desert we often see homes that try to keep out the sun and warmth, while trying to keep it in during the night. Again with materials available in the region.
But they also build differently in those area's. Some make tents. Some make huts. Some make sturdy stone houses. Although most modern society build with cube shapes, there are still cultures that build only round shapes.
It is difficult to tell
The culture, environment and available materials determine more together than just the biological form. Still, the biological form also determines a lot. We can probably tell they have streets, some form of fences (they work psychologically. Plenty of fences that you could just jump over) and a roof over the head. But even things like fences really depends on the habits and culture. Maybe it's more like a bonobo society. Within certain area's they are all just happily with each other and doing their bonobo thing. Or maybe they are more like polar bears. More solitary, wanting high walls and privacy.