Well, back at it again with City26! I know it's been a few weeks since my last update on it, but I haven't given up, I swear! I did, however, take a hiatus from... well, from basically everything online. I ran into some burnout and stepped away from all my other writing for a bit, but I did continue with City26. The good news is that means I have plenty of new stuff for this current district.
An example of some older architecture in Vila Nova de Gaia
1d4 Typical Buildings
- Office Apartments: Mostly found clustered along the main roads, these multi-level buildings typically house several different businesses, and may include private apartments for the business's owners. In many of them, the ground floor holds a public shop, offering general goods or other street-facing services. The building's size can vary, but they usually stand between three and four stories high; the largest, reaching six or seven floors, are found along the Avenida.
- Vivendas: Larger than cottages but smaller than manors, these detached homes typically stand two or three stories high, and are surrounded by fenced gardens often populated with fruit trees and flowering bushes. They are typically owned by "nouveau riche" families who made their fortunes in mercantile or artisan businesses, and bought land in Terra Nova in the early days of its rapid urbanization.
- Green Plaza: Parks found throughout the city, sometimes small enough to fit between buildings, sometimes large enough to fill entire city blocks. These parks were created by the city after its unification, carved out from the farmland that used to exist here, for the recreation and relaxation of the districts primarily upper-class residents.
- Shopping Plaza: A series of businesses occupying a larger building built around a central area, usually a courtyard but sometimes an interior lobby. The businesses inside are usually stores selling physical goods, as opposed to the offices used for services. Ownership of the building is typically shared between tenants, who pool money for common maintenance. Some owners who retire from business choose to rent the storefront, but maintain ownership of the space, usually collecting a share of the new business's profits.
Solar Condes de Resende, an old manor home from the 10th/11th century (and technically a quinta, not a vivenda, but I needed something).
1d6 Incidental Scenes
- A small group of merchants are sitting on the patio in front of a cafe, drinking chilled wine or small glasses of coffee while they argue. They are dressed in fine clothes in a modern style, imported from overseas. Their discussion appears to center on plans for an as-yet uncompleted bridge, the Pont Maria, which, if built, will be designed exclusively for horse-drawn rail carriages.
- A crowded door and the sounds of an auction held at a nearby trading company indicate another shipping business has gone under. But one company's loss is another's gain, and based on the frantic shouting of prices, people are eager to buy up whatever resources they can before the doors close.
- Parents walk together with their children through one of the city's open parks, enjoying the green space set aside for them. In spring and summer, the trees and bushes pop with a dazzling array of colorful flowers, while in autumn and winter the grounds take on a muted warmth, as the temperate climate never grows truly frigid. At all times of the year, an elaborate stone fountain runs with crystal-clear water, its babbling sounds providing an accompaniment to the chatter of people.
- Finely-made carriages, drawn by teams of well-groomed horses, trot along the street. At the start of the weekend, they all begin to head west and south, toward the pleasure beaches maintained by the city. They return at the start of the week, carrying their owners back to the businesses they must maintain. In summer, it brings the owners alone, while their families remain at secondary properties kept along the coast and out in the city's more rural fringes.
- A cluster of cats sits on a nearby roof, lounging in the sun. They are joined by a tentative seagull, drawn by the warmth of the roof tiles. The cats seem unperturbed by the intruder, having decided it is too big to hunt, or perhaps too hot to bother with the chase. However, they all scramble to their feet when an older woman approaches, swarming around her as she begins to give hand-feed them scraps of meat and fish.
- Today is a market day for one of the open plazas scattered around the district. Stalls have been assembled that sell everything from food to toys, with more packed into the small space than seems possible. There is a dazzling array of fruits, vegetables, cured meats, and baked goods, all next to handmade books, works of art, small statuary, glazed pottery, jeweled trinkets, and more.
Parque de Lavandeira, one of the larger green spaces in Vila Nova de Gaia