jwynia/settlement-design
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.
npx skills add https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills --skill settlement-designYou 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.
10. Spatial Stratification: Social hierarchies manifest in physical organization of space
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
context/output-config.md in the projectworldbuilding/settlements/ or explorations/worldbuilding/Pattern: {settlement-name}-design-{date}.md
context/output-config.md{settlement-name}-design-{date}.mdTrigger phrases: "design the complete city", "city history", "regional settlement network"
| Task | Agent Type | When to Spawn |
|------|------------|---------------|
| Historical research | general-purpose | When modeling on real cities |
| World consistency check | Explore | When verifying against existing setting |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Take jwynia/settlement-design from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.
The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the
same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.