After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

While negotiatons in the Premier Restaurant were wrapping up, Althea was with the Urban Planning team and other elders to finalize the buildings.

For now, she had finished up the walls and the sentries, closing all the gaps, but other than what was already there, there had been no more construction yet.

In terms of area, the new area that was now available (including the previous level’s area) was multiple times the existing one. This was a massive space to build on.

First of all, they added a few more gates connecting the existing wall to the outside wall.

They chose key areas where traffic should be flowing particularly well. For example, the industrial area and the farms. They would be using a huge portion of the new land to build their farms and industries, after all.

More and more territories would also be coming here to buy bulk purchases, and the traffic here would only increase.

They planned and layouted the future road networks as well as the utility networks, considering provisions for the future as well.

They also planned for larger depots and then started to separate the types of products.

The deals were getting too large that the current depots were too crowded and, no matter if they hired more people, slow due to the facilities.

Many products also had their own specialized handling, so it was best to separate them, even for just that.

For example, seeds had their own large depot. Other agricultural products, like fertilizers, bone meals, loam mixes, and so on would also be here.

Plant produce like rice, dried fruits, and other things had their own. The two were not mixed for food safety and hygiene.

The various fabrics, needles, yarns, and the like also had their own depot.

Consumable products like paper and pencil, as well as chemicals like soap, detergent, oils, and stuff, would each have separate ones as well.

Finished food products with long shelf life, like instant noodles, crackers, and protein bars, had their own, separated from the other food types as well. The former had far bigger sales than the latter, after all, considering they also had clients from very far away from them.

There would even be an electronics depot, eventually, though for now their stocks could be sufficiently stored in the Specialty Store Warehouse.

Anyway, each depot had its own small commercial areas for transactions and also for the benefit of the customers who’d definitely be queuing for some time.

They also added more commercial zones and residential zones all over the new areas, the ratio of which depended a lot on the data they got from what they had inside.

For example, due to the high ratio of tourists, they could increase the number of commercial areas at ground level up to the second floor, moving the residential units upwards to make way for foot traffic.

She designated more areas for mid-rise buildings, as well, and of course, she had to make up for the park she had to consume in the inner wall. These parks would be quite large with artificial basins and lakes, bridges, biking paths, and so on.

The landscaping would be up to the landscaping team, but the theme would more or less fit Alterra’s existing ones, even if they took liberties in some elements.

The main new system buildings and important new buildings had to be placed in the new land. The new government compound—which had to be large—ended up being outside the inner walls, too. However, she connected it to the existing one through the main avenue.

Currently, the government building was next to the Town Center, which was one of the structures at the end of an avenue.

To improve the connection, they extended the Southwest Avenue further outside to the new land, through a gate, and made a rotunda there, smack in the middle of the new area.

Not only would this be the new government zone, but the new buildings they chose, the Healing Sanctuary and the Mercenary Hall, as well as a new supermarket, would be built near or around this new rotunda.

In the outer walls, this would be the center of activity and where land value was highest.

Anyway, as promised, each government department now had its own building! Five stories each!

As it was now, this was an overdesign, and floors would understandably be empty for a while. However, Alterra had always moved with foresight, so they were planning on creating provisions for the time they became a city.

These buildings would match the aesthetics of the Alterran streetscape, but also had their own unique features that would hint at their use more than the large signage in front of them.

These were all rough sketches, of course. They had slowly been brainstorming this and that before, but everyone thought they had time. They did not rush it, not knowing the upgrade would come so soon.

The architects were assigned a building each to make schematics, just so Althea and the other elders would be able to decide on the general massing of the buildings. They also mentioned the decorations and other things they wanted included.

For example, the agricultural department, with Gru as the leading person, had motifs of plants and crops on its exterior columns, and the plants it chose in its front yard invoked the feeling of being near a farm.

Other than these surface-level considerations, the elders (with help from their respective advisors and staff) also listed down some key spaces they wanted in their buildings.

For example, for Gru’s case, there would be specific area requirements for the staff, and also proper zoning for the public. There would be lots of permits and the like happening here, after all, especially to those who wished to lease their own farms.

There would also be laboratories for seed testing, soil testing, and the like. There would also be sample gardens and greenhouses (at the roof deck) with controlled temperatures.

With the increasing number of things to be studied, the agricultural department ought to have its own specialized laboratories now.

The military department had a more streamlined design, but still used Alterra’s key elements, including wood and plant motifs on the columns, and so on.

Other than those two, other departments included the Intelligence department now assigned to Loki, the Finance department assigned to Ramil, the Culture Department assigned to Ansel, the Education Department assigned to Rosalind, the Health Department assigned to Volohov, the Construction led by Oslo, the internal and external affairs headed by Mathilda, and so on.

Because they had grown big and would only grow bigger, there were also a few buildings assigned to departments that weren’t even handled yet. For example, they were planning on separating the justice system from the military and internal affairs. Eventually.

Another was a completely new department they were planning on. This would oversee the up and coming Guild concept, which would be called the Guild Management Department. They didn’t know who to place here yet, but the experts like Hoffen would be advisors here.

Of course, each of these leaders was now assigned to be Elders in their own right. No, Department heads.

In any case, Althea felt good to delegate. There was simply so much to do, and she definitely couldn’t handle any more than she already was.