settlement-design

name	settlement-design
description	Design cities, towns, and settlements for fictional worlds. Use when creating urban environments, mapping city districts, or when settlements need realistic layered development and spatial logic.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"jwynia","version":"1.0","type":"generator","mode":"generative","domain":"worldbuilding"}

Settlement Design: Urban Development Skill

You help writers create realistic settlements by applying the ten core principles that govern how real cities and towns form, grow, and evolve. This produces urban environments that feel lived-in rather than designed-for-plot.

Core Principles

1. Geographic Determinism: Natural features profoundly shape settlement patterns and growth
2. Functional Necessity: Settlements develop to fulfill specific economic, defensive, or social needs
3. Network Emergence: Settlements exist within interconnected systems, not isolation
4. Layered Development: Urban spaces evolve through accretion rather than comprehensive planning
5. Power Projection: Settlement design reflects and reinforces social and political hierarchies
6. Resource Constraint: Available materials and technologies limit construction possibilities
7. Cultural Expression: Built environments embody cultural values and social organization
8. Adaptive Reuse: Structures and spaces are repurposed as needs change over time
9. Disaster Response: Settlements evolve in reaction to catastrophes
10. Spatial Stratification: Social hierarchies manifest in physical organization of space

The Ten Parameter Categories

1. Site Selection Parameters

Parameter	Options to Consider
Water Access	Rivers, lakes, coastlines, springs, wells
Defensive Position	Elevation, natural barriers, visibility
Resource Proximity	Mines, timber, fertile soil, wildlife
Trade Route Placement	Crossroads, harbors, mountain passes
Climate Suitability	Temperature, rainfall, seasonal patterns
Spiritual Significance	Sacred sites, astronomical alignments

2. Morphological Parameters

Parameter	Options to Consider
Street Pattern	Grid, radial, organic, hierarchical
Density Gradient	Concentrated to dispersed population
Boundary Definition	Walls, natural features, markers
Building Typology	Predominant architectural forms
Open Space Distribution	Plazas, parks, markets, fields
Vertical Development	Height variation and skyline

3. Functional Parameters

Parameter	Options to Consider
Economic Base	Agricultural, industrial, commercial, administrative
Defense Systems	Fortifications, surveillance, escape routes
Civic Organization	Governance spaces and structures
Social Infrastructure	Meeting places, recreational areas
Religious Facilities	Temples, shrines, ceremonial spaces
Knowledge Centers	Schools, libraries, universities

4. Infrastructure Parameters

Parameter	Options to Consider
Water Management	Supply, drainage, waste disposal
Transportation Network	Roads, bridges, canals, ports
Food Storage/Distribution	Granaries, markets, warehouses
Energy Systems	Fuel sources, power distribution
Waste Management	Disposal, recycling, sanitation
Communication Infrastructure	Message systems, signals

5. Socio-Spatial Parameters

Parameter	Options to Consider
Elite Spaces	High-status residential and ceremonial areas
Common Quarters	Everyday residential areas
Marginalized Zones	Low-status or excluded populations
Transitional Spaces	Areas between different social domains
Contested Territories	Disputed or ambiguous ownership
Ethnoreligious Districts	Cultural/religious group clustering

6. Symbolic Parameters

Parameter	Options to Consider
Monumental Expression	Power and identity representations
Ritual Pathways	Procession routes and ceremonial ways
Collective Memory Sites	Historical event markers
Identity Boundaries	Cultural and social group divisions
Cosmic Alignment	Astronomical and religious orientations
Status Signification	Social rank indication through space

Settlement Typologies

By Primary Function

Type	Characteristics
Market Settlement	Trade-focused community
Administrative Center	Governance-oriented city
Religious Complex	Faith-centered settlement
Military Outpost	Defense-focused installation
Production Center	Manufacturing/resource extraction
Agricultural Community	Farming-based settlement
Transport Hub	Movement-facilitating location
Knowledge Center	Education/research community

By Morphological Pattern

Type	Characteristics
Planned Grid	Regular, organized street network
Concentric Settlement	Rings around central point
Linear Development	Elongated along path/feature
Organic Cluster	Irregular, emergent organization
Radial Pattern	Streets extending from central hub
Composite Structure	Multiple morphological sections
Dispersed Settlement	Scattered buildings without center
Nucleated Village	Tightly clustered around focal point

By Geographic Setting

Type	Characteristics
River Settlement	Waterway-oriented community
Coastal Port	Sea-facing trade center
Hill Town	Elevated defensive position
Valley Community	Nestled between heights
Plains Settlement	Flat terrain development
Mountain Outpost	High-altitude location
Island Development	Water-surrounded community
Desert Oasis	Arid region water-centered

By Scale and Complexity

Type	Population Range
Isolated Homestead	Single family/small group
Hamlet	Small cluster, no specialization
Village	Basic community, simple division of labor
Town	Medium settlement, some specialization
City	Large settlement, complex organization
Metropolis	Major urban center, regional dominance
Megalopolis	Interconnected urban region
Imperial Capital	Political/cultural center of empire

Development Patterns

Settlement Evolution Sequences

• Camp → Hamlet → Village → Town → City → Metropolis
• Military Outpost → Frontier Settlement → Regional Center → Capital
• Religious Shrine → Pilgrimage Site → Temple Complex → Holy City
• Trading Post → Market Town → Commercial Center → Trade Metropolis
• Mining Camp → Industrial Town → Manufacturing City
• Fishing Settlement → Port Town → Maritime Hub → Naval Center

Spatial Growth Patterns

Pattern	Description
Concentric Expansion	Growth in rings around original settlement
Axial Development	Expansion along transportation corridors
Leap-frog Growth	Discontinuous development with gaps
Infill Densification	Filling empty spaces within existing areas
Satellite Formation	Secondary settlements around primary center
Linear Extension	Growth along single axis
Cellular Accretion	Addition of whole neighborhoods/districts
Polycentric Evolution	Multiple growing centers merging

Crisis and Adaptation Cycles

Crisis	Response Pattern
Fire Destruction	Rebuilding with fire prevention
Flood Damage	Elevated construction, flood control
Disease Outbreak	Sanitation improvement
Siege/Invasion	Enhanced fortification
Resource Depletion	Economic diversification
Overcrowding	Peripheral expansion, vertical growth
Political Collapse	Fragmentation, repurposing

Setting-Specific Adaptations

Fantasy Settings

• Magical Resource Urbanization: Settlement around arcane energy sources
• Multi-Race Architecture: Designs for diverse species needs
• Defensive Magic Influence: Mystical protection affecting urban form
• Divine Presence Planning: City design reflecting divine will
• Magical Transportation Effects: Portal/teleportation impact on layout

Science Fiction Settings

• Environmental Dome Cities: Enclosed settlements on hostile worlds
• Orbital Habitat Design: Artificial gravity considerations
• Subterranean Complexes: Underground urban development
• Interspecies Cohabitation: Multi-species urban accommodation
• Zero-G Settlement Design: Spatial organization without gravity

Post-Apocalyptic Settings

• Ruin Repurposing: Adaptation of pre-collapse structures
• Defensive Scarcity Design: Resource protection-focused layout
• Contamination Avoidance: Hazard-driven settlement location
• Technological Regression: Designs following capability loss
• Remnant Infrastructure: Communities around surviving systems

District Design

Naming Patterns

Pattern	Examples
Function-Based	Market Quarter, Warehouse District
Social Class Reference	Noble Quarter, Craftsmen's Row
Historical Development	Old Town, New District
Geographic Position	North Ward, Riverside
Ethnic/Cultural	Elvish Quarter, Foreign District
Occupational Cluster	Tanner's Lane, Merchant Row

District Types

Type	Characteristics
Commercial	Markets, shops, warehouses, trade halls
Residential (Elite)	Large homes, gardens, quiet streets
Residential (Common)	Dense housing, narrow streets
Industrial	Workshops, manufacturing, pollution
Religious	Temples, monasteries, sacred spaces
Administrative	Government buildings, courts, archives
Entertainment	Theaters, taverns, pleasure houses
Military	Barracks, armories, training grounds

Implementation Process

Step 1: Site Selection and Analysis

• Identify key geographic features
• Assess resource availability
• Evaluate defensive potential
• Analyze transportation connectivity
• Consider climatic conditions

Step 2: Foundation Establishment

• Determine founding purpose
• Select initial morphology
• Establish core structures
• Define original boundaries

Step 3: Growth Phase Development

• Map expansion patterns
• Add district specialization
• Develop infrastructure networks
• Create social stratification zones

Step 4: Historical Layering

• Incorporate crisis events
• Show adaptive responses
• Create architectural palimpsest
• Develop contested spaces

Step 5: Contemporary State

• Define current function
• Map active/declining areas
• Identify tensions and conflicts
• Show ongoing changes

Implementation Checklist

• Define site selection rationale
• Choose primary function type
• Select morphological pattern
• Map district organization
• Design infrastructure systems
• Create social stratification zones
• Develop historical layers
• Include crisis response evidence
• Add cultural expression elements
• Identify current tensions/changes

Output Persistence

Output Discovery

1. Check for context/output-config.md in the project
2. If found, look for this skill's entry
3. If not found, ask user: "Where should I save settlement designs?"
4. Suggest: worldbuilding/settlements/ or explorations/worldbuilding/

Primary Output

• Site analysis - Geographic features and selection rationale
• Morphology - Street patterns, boundaries, districts
• Historical layers - Development phases and crisis responses
• Infrastructure - Water, transport, waste, food systems
• Social geography - Elite, common, marginalized zones

File Naming

Pattern: {settlement-name}-design-{date}.md

Verification (Oracle)

What This Skill Can Verify

• Scale consistency - Do population and institutions match? (High confidence)
• Infrastructure presence - Are essential systems addressed? (High confidence)
• Historical layering - Does settlement show development over time? (Medium confidence)

What Requires Human Judgment

• Story fit - Does settlement create interesting scenes?
• Immersive quality - Does it feel lived-in?
• Navigation clarity - Can readers orient themselves?

Oracle Limitations

• Cannot assess whether settlement serves plot needs
• Cannot predict reader sense of place from descriptions

Feedback Loop

Session Persistence

• Output location: See context/output-config.md
• What to save: Site, morphology, districts, infrastructure, social zones
• Naming pattern: {settlement-name}-design-{date}.md

Cross-Session Learning

• Check for prior settlement work in this world
• Ensure settlements maintain trade/political consistency
• Crisis response patterns inform anti-patterns

Design Constraints

This Skill Assumes

• Settlement exists (even ruins were once settlements)
• Writer wants functional urbanism, not stage sets
• Some historical development has occurred

This Skill Does Not Handle

• Economic systems - Route to: economic-systems
• Political structures - Route to: governance-systems
• Cultural texture - Route to: memetic-depth
• Scene staging - Route to: scene-sequencing

Degradation Signals

• Perfect symmetry without historical disruption
• Every element serving current plot
• Scale mismatch between population and institutions

Reasoning Requirements

Standard Reasoning

• Single district design
• Site selection analysis
• Basic infrastructure mapping

Extended Reasoning (ultrathink)

• Full city design - [Why: all systems interconnect]
• Historical layer development - [Why: tracing centuries of change]
• Multi-settlement regional design - [Why: trade and political networks]

Trigger phrases: "design the complete city", "city history", "regional settlement network"

Execution Strategy

Sequential (Default)

• Site before morphology
• Foundation before growth phases
• Infrastructure before social geography

Parallelizable

• Designing multiple districts
• Research into different urban analogs

Subagent Candidates

Task	Agent Type	When to Spawn
Historical research	general-purpose	When modeling on real cities
World consistency check	Explore	When verifying against existing setting

Context Management

Approximate Token Footprint

• Skill base: ~4k tokens (parameters + typologies)
• With development patterns: ~5k tokens
• With setting adaptations: ~6k tokens

Context Optimization

• Focus on relevant typologies for current settlement
• Implementation process is reference, not required
• Setting adaptations load on-demand

When Context Gets Tight

• Prioritize: Current typology, active parameters
• Defer: Full typology matrix, evolution sequences
• Drop: All setting-specific adaptations not in use

Anti-Patterns

1. Designer's Map Syndrome

Pattern: Creating settlements that look good on a map but don't reflect organic development—perfect grids, symmetrical layouts, convenient district placement. Why it fails: Real cities accumulate over time through crisis, growth, and adaptation. The "designed" appearance signals artificiality. Readers sense something's off even when they can't articulate it. Fix: Add at least one layer of disruption—a fire that forced rebuilding, a flood that redirected development, an invasion that destroyed the old walls. Show the scars of history in the urban fabric.

2. Functional Perfection

Pattern: Every element of the city serves the current plot—the perfect tavern for meetings, the convenient sewer for escapes, districts that exist only when characters visit. Why it fails: Cities exist for their inhabitants, not for visiting protagonists. Plot-serving urbanism makes the city feel like a stage set rather than a lived environment. Fix: Include elements that don't serve the plot but serve the city. Markets for goods the characters don't need. Temples to gods the characters don't worship. The city should feel like it would exist without the story.

3. Scale Implausibility

Pattern: Descriptions implying vastly different scales—a "small town" with specialized districts that would require a population of 50,000, or a "great city" that characters walk across in an hour. Why it fails: Readers have intuitions about urban scale from experience. Contradictions break immersion. A hamlet can't have a thieves' guild district; a metropolis can't be crossed on foot between breakfast and lunch. Fix: Choose a real-world analog for scale reference. Research population densities for your technology level. Match institutions and specializations to actual population thresholds.

4. Missing Infrastructure

Pattern: Rich descriptions of palaces and markets without mentioning where water comes from, where waste goes, or how food arrives. Why it fails: Infrastructure is what makes cities possible. Its absence makes the settlement feel like a fantasy diorama rather than a functioning organism. Fix: Decide how the city handles water, waste, food, and fuel. These systems shape urban form—aqueducts create neighborhoods, markets cluster near gates, tanners locate downriver.

5. Homogeneous Population

Pattern: Every neighborhood has the same feel, the same prosperity level, the same building types. No tension between rich and poor districts, old and new areas, native and immigrant quarters. Why it fails: Urban texture comes from variation and contrast. The interesting parts of cities are the edges where different zones meet, where wealth borders poverty, where old meets new. Fix: Design at least three distinct zones with different characters. Create transition areas where they interact. Show the tensions that arise from proximity.

Integration

Inbound (feeds into this skill)

Skill	What it provides
worldbuilding	Broader geographic and cultural context
governance-systems	Political structures that shape urban form
economic-systems	Trade patterns and production that drive settlement growth
belief-systems	Religious architecture and sacred geography

Outbound (this skill enables)

Skill	What this provides
scene-sequencing	Physical spaces for scene staging
positional-revelation	Urban roles that create plot access
underdog-unit	Physical constraints for institutional outcasts

Complementary

Skill	Relationship
economic-systems	Settlement design needs economic logic; economic-systems need physical expression in markets and districts
governance-systems	Political power expresses itself through urban form; use together for consistency