Should cities be inside-out to reduce pollution?

[kmarinas86]

Which city do you think is most efficient.

The first one is a new design I made.
The second one resembles my hometown. My hometown is Houston and is an urban sprawl.
I'm wondering if it is possible to have a suburban core and urban outskirts.
I'm wondering if it would reduce traffic congestion.
I'm wondering if would make people happier.
I'm wondering if it would reduce class stratification.
I'm wondering if could hold more people in less space without increasing traffic.
I'm wondering if it could provided more balanced and equal access to different parts of the city.
I'm wondering if such a city is easier to evacuate during emergencies.
I'm wondering if such a city would spread disease less quickly.
I'm wondering if there is any city like this
I'm wondering if such a city has any of the other characteristics I just talked about.

[kmarinas86]

[freeztar]

First of all, very interesting topic kmarinas!

Originally Posted by kmarinas86

Which city do you think is most efficient.

I'd love to answer this question forthright, but I'm stunned by the lack of what is outside the box (or circle in this case). Perhaps it's better that I lay aside my idea of environmental connectivity and approach this as a model.

So, my answer would be that the 2nd city is more efficient, but that is subjective depending on how we define "efficient". In terms of commerce efficiency, I would bet on the "central hub" model. With other variables, such as utilities, the 1st city (the one you created) might very well be the most efficient of the two models you have presented. So perhaps it is best to define a criteria for efficiency. If you mean to say that your design represents a total efficiency gain over the opposing design, then perhaps qualify that by posting different types of efficiency gains/losses for both sides.

I'm wondering if it is possible to have a suburban core and urban outskirts.

It's certainly possible and a very interesting idea.

I'm wondering if it would reduce traffic congestion.

I'm guessing that it would reverse traffic trends. Downtown traffic would turn into a "circumference band" traffic, perhaps.

I'm wondering if would make people happier.

That's hard to qualify as I can't think of any examples of studies examining this. It could be the case, but the question "why?" would have to be answered before a case could be made.

I'm wondering if it would reduce class stratification.

I'm wondering if it might increase it.

I'm wondering if could hold more people in less space without increasing traffic.

Spreading the "urban areas" around the outside of the circle could definitely increase population density. Traffic is a big "?" at this point.

I'm wondering if it could provided more balanced and equal access to different parts of the city.

To me, this seems like one of the biggest pros for this idea.

I'm wondering if such a city is easier to evacuate during emergencies.
I'm wondering if such a city would spread disease less quickly.

Interesting questions. We can model such things, but unfortunately I don't have the facilities on hand.

I'm wondering if there is any city like this
I'm wondering if such a city has any of the other characteristics I just talked about.

Good question. I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I seem to recall seeing/knowing of something the same/similar. I'll dig deep and post anything relevant I come across.

[kmarinas86]

A: Distance from center
B: Area at this distance
C: Inside-out's population density at this distance
D: Outside-in's population density at this distance
E: Inside-out's population at this distance
F: Outside in's total population

					
A	B	C	D	E	F
0	0	0	10	0	0
1	1	1	9	1	9
2	3	2	8	6	24
3	6	3	7	18	42
4	10	4	6	40	60
5	15	5	5	75	75
6	21	6	4	126	84
7	28	7	3	196	84
8	36	8	2	288	72
9	45	9	1	405	45
10	55	10	0	550	0

INSIDE-OUT'S TOTAL POPULATION: 1705
OUTSIDE-IN'S TOTAL POPULATION: 495

Assuming that traffic is proportional to population density along the line, I would assume that the traffic delay inside "inside-out" city is not three times as bad.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by kmarinas86

A: Distance from center
B: Area at this distance
C: Inside-out's population density at this distance
D: Outside-in's population density at this distance
E: Inside-out's population at this distance
F: Outside in's total population

					
A	B	C	D	E	F
0	0	0	10	0	0
1	1	1	9	1	9
2	3	2	8	6	24
3	6	3	7	18	42
4	10	4	6	40	60
5	15	5	5	75	75
6	21	6	4	126	84
7	28	7	3	196	84
8	36	8	2	288	72
9	45	9	1	405	45
10	55	10	0	550	0

INSIDE-OUT'S TOTAL POPULATION: 1705
OUTSIDE-IN'S TOTAL POPULATION: 495

Assuming that traffic is proportional to population density along the line, I would assume that the traffic delay inside "inside-out" city is not three times as bad.

While I give applause for the code block, I'm wondering how you came to 1705/495 for "inside-out"/"outside-in" respectively? For one thing, F-10 shows a value of "0"?

I'd be interested in knowing the difference in water surface area between the two.

[kmarinas86]

Originally Posted by freeztar

While I give applause for the code block, I'm wondering how you came to 1705/495 for "inside-out"/"outside-in" respectively? For one thing, F-10 shows a value of "0"?

I'd be interested in knowing the difference in water surface area between the two.

I took the area of the concentric ring at some distance and multiplied it by the population density.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by kmarinas86

I took the area of the concentric ring at some distance and multiplied it by the population density.

Can you please be more specific?

[HydrogenBond]

I like the city model where all the entertainment, restaurants, nightclubs, and shopping district is in the center of the city, intermingled with parks. Sort of a pedestrian mall with few autos. The housing comes next, with more practical stores, like groceries stores, gas stations, etc, close-by. It is also set up to have various forms of public transportation from the residential to the hub. This allows the children and others, who can't drive, to get to the hub. At the outer layer is the industrial and manufacturing district. This is where the auto is useful, being the primary means of transport from the residential. This is connected with a good road system.

[kmarinas86]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Can you please be more specific?

Ok.

The circle in the middle has an area of pi and a radius of 1.

Beyond that, is the first ring. If it has an outer radius of 2 and an inner radius of 1 its area is (2^2 - 1^2)pi or 3 pi. Depending on the model, the population density increases or decreases linearly with radii.

Beyond that, is the second ring. If it has an outer radius of 3 and an inner radius of 2 its area is (3^2 - 2^2)pi or 5 pi.

Beyond that, is the third ring. If it has an outer radius of 4 and an inner radius of 3 its area is (4^2 - 3^2)pi or 7 pi.

So in general, these areas have an approximate population density, which is multiplied by the area's "area" to get the population in that area.

[kmarinas86]

Originally Posted by HydrogenBond

a pedestrian mall with few autos.

That's exactly what I want.