# How to run a city

## Regional differences

[Culture](people-culture.md) dominates how we behave relative to others, but population density has a "soft" effect because of specialization on the general disposition of a region.

Rural

- Often governed by broad [rules](people-rules.md) and honors the [implications](mind-feelings.md) of those boundaries.
- Most people get most of their [news](stories-storytellers.md) days, weeks, or months after the event happens.
- The people value autonomy (self-determined [decisions](people-decisions.md)) over interdependence.
- Most available services are very limited from how few specialists are competing for [work](results.md), and most people have a plethora of general skills to take care of tasks themselves.
- Everyone tends to speak more quietly and slower, and has a type of "free" [disposition](personality.md).
- They tend to be very [understanding](understanding.md) and [self-aware](awareness.md) from having lots of time to think and observe.

Urban

- Tightly managed [rules](people-rules.md) with many, many exceptions and clarifications.
- Most people receive [news](stories-storytellers.md) almost as soon as it happens.
- The people value interdependence and dependence over autonomy.
- Generally, there are *many* people competing for services, but individuals don't often have the means or skill to do things themselves, and must often [trust](understanding-certainty.md) everyone else.
- Everyone tends to speak very loud and fast, and has a certain "caged" [disposition](personality.md).
- Their strength is in setting [priorities](success-3_goals.md) well, but they're *awful* at managing the competing flows of information.

Suburban

- Clear-cut [rules](people-rules.md) of urban with the [implications](mind-feelings.md) of rural.
- Most people get all the [news](stories-storytellers.md) within a day or two.
- Interdependence and autonomy are balanced out.
- Services are frequent, but individuals can do many things themselves as well.
- Everyone speaks moderately fast with a varying volume, and gives the most variety of [disposition](personality.md).

Our preference of population density comes from how much we value [privacy versus convenience](safety.md). Most of these preferences express as [rituals](habits.md) involving physical and emotional distance.

The [cultural](people-culture.md) mix of a city is difficult to [measure](math.md), but most people can [feel](mind-feelings.md) it. Each person is contributing to that city proportional to the [power](power.md) they possess, so the city has a "heartbeat" of its [style](mind-creativity.md) based on how everyone [acts out](results.md) the [collective values](values.md) everyone [believes](understanding-certainty.md).

APPLICATION: The three population density groups have irreconcilable differences in [value](values.md) systems:

- Above a certain threshold, everyone *must* depend on others, but below a certain threshold, everyone *must* be self-sufficient.
- More population creates more [trends](trends.md) and [conflicts of opinion](people-conflicts.md), so bigger cities are *far* more [liberal](politics-conservativeliberal.md) than the countryside.

## Multi-region

Generally, [trends](trends.md) move outward from denser areas. In a well-connected society with lots of [communication](people-conversation.md) [technology](technology.md), each city's specialization will house the leadership of specific [multi-nation groups](groups-large.md).

The most [legitimately powerful](power-types.md) people live in or near the capital city of a country, so the [culture](people-culture.md) (and, when applicable, the selection) of that capital city has a *profound* impact on the rest of the nation's [trends](trends.md).

Frequently, [trends](trends.md) will move across many regions at once, often jumping between them as rapidly as leaders become aware of and adopt them. In a sense, those trends will give [power](power-types.md) to the original [creator](mind-creativity.md) of the trend, which will ripple outward to that person's specialized group and the surrounding people that the creator contacts.

The climate of a region defines more than almost anything else. Unbearable weather requires people to be tenacious, and easily accessible resources make a happy and relaxed group.

Once the [technology](technology.md) of a group becomes large enough, the [group](groups-large.md) can connect and meet across an extremely vast region. However, it never *entirely* removes the need for geographical closeness.