City '26, Week 15: Terra Nova – Major Streets

Although it's been two weeks, I am still on the grind for City 26! At one point I'd fallen almost a week behind, then spent a few day trying to play catch up, with varying levels of success. I also might have lost count at one point... Although my notes and entries for City 26 are really well organized, they're not easy to individually count (partially because there's so many) and that makes it easy to lose track of how many there are. For lack of better options I have a manual counter that I updated every time I make a new entry, but that means actually remembering to update it each time. At the very least though, I'm either at or slightly above 110 entries-- which feels like so many even though I still have many more to go.

Anyway, this week I've got all of the major streets for Terra Nova mapped out. I tried to use a combination of old, pre-1800 maps of Vila Nova de Gaia and modern Google maps, but still leaned most heavily on my own experiences of the city. That's the original intention of this whole exercise, after all.

Terra Nova Major Streets

• The Avenida: This wide boulevard begins at the Pont Luis, the main bridge spanning the Goldrock and connecting Terra Velha and Terra Nova. From there it runs south in an almost straight line until it reaches the edge of the district, at which point it evaporates into branches of cobblestone and dirt. The Avenida hosts most of the city's municipal buildings, trading company headquarters, and a wide variety of upscale residences and businesses. In this way it acts as the main artery for the flow of money through Terra Nova. Its centerline was built with a steel rail, intended for a horse-drawn railway car like those found in Terra Velha, but the plans for the service were abandoned after pushback from the district's wealthy citizens.
  
  

 

A photograph of the real-life Avenida da República, looking north towards Porto (in what is one of the most spectacular views of this road I've ever seen).

• Marquis da Banderia: Running almost perfectly parallel to the Avenida, this road begins in Harborside at the river markets, passes through the Oceanview neighborhood, then continues to rise steeply until it crosses the Rue du Torres and suddenly levels off. Caught in a strange liminal space, the Marquis da Bandeira benefits from its status as one of the largest roads connecting Harborside directly to Terra Nova, but its chance at becoming a major economic vein are limited by its proximity to the larger, wealthier Avenida. Perhaps for this reason, it's grown in popularity as a spot for wealthy patricians to keep apartments-- close enough to keep an eye on their businesses, but far enough to maintain leisure, and with easy access to the late-night pleasures of Harborside.
• Rue du Baixo: This broad road connects Terra Nova and Terra Velha via the Pont Freixo. Prior to the construction of the Pont Luis, this was the major thoroughfare for people crossing the river who sought to avoid Harborside. But the higher tolls for crossing the Pont Freixo slowly strangled business, and though the toll has been reduced, business on the Rue do Baixo has yet to recover. With the centralization of trade onto the Avenida, the Rue do Baixo has become an after-thought. Its homes, restaurants, and other businesses have been sold one-by-one to less-wealthy families seeking space in Terra Nova, who failed to realize they were moving into an area that the major money had already passed through.
  
  

 

Another picture of the Avenida, this time from the early 1900s. The presence of the tram line means it's sometimes after 1905, at least.

• Rue du Infantil: Technically a collection of smaller, individually-named roads, streets, and paths which blend together into one long roadway. It "starts" at the shores of the Goldrock, to the east of the Pont Luis, then meanders west and south, intersecting almost every major road and street along the way. It also varies in size, going from narrow alley to wide boulevard and back again. This meandering nature and variable width have prevented the Rue du Infantil from becoming a more important thoroughfare. In addition, some of the areas and neighborhoods it passes through have already developed a reputation, usually overstated, for being unsafe for most people.
• Rue du Torres: A major road that splits early from the Avenida, just after Harborside, then heads east toward the coast before curving south. Long and winding, it continues far beyond the bounds of Port Callus, into the states to the south. Prior to the creation of the Avenida, this was the primary road for southern travelers coming into the city, and its broad and well-paved surface is easy-riding for carriages. It's now mainly used by Terra Nova residents making day trips to the west coast's beautiful beaches.
• Rue da Vereda: Once a small footpath that ran east to west through Terra Nova, as the district grew, this dirt road expanded to become the major channel between the Avenida and the Rue du Baixo. While the latter has suffered from the move of local business toward the Avenida, the Rue da Vereda has flourished. Its greatest strength is the presence of a large municipal park, which draws people from all over the district. The park was one a farm, whose owner refused for decades to sell the property, even as the rest of the district was transformed into a hub of commerce. Only once the city came to him directly, hoping to turn the still-rural stretch into much-needed green space for its citizens, did the farmer relent-- and consequently turning a much greater profit than he might have otherwise.