The One Book That Changed How I Build Cities (Johnn’s Bookshelf #02)

Who knew economic and urban development theory could be exciting?

I certainly didn’t, until I stumbled upon a book called The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs.

This small academic tome changed how I build worlds, and today I’ll show you why. Welcome to the latest installment of Johnn’s Bookshelf, my series where I share books I find useful for GMing that aren’t about TTRPGs.

A quick note: I don’t recommend buying this book unless you find this sort of thing fascinating. I loved it, but most GMs would probably find it a bit dry.

Upsetting the Status Quo

In the 1970s, Jane Jacobs’s theories challenged current ideas on urban development. Her insights were instantly applicable to the worlds I was GMing at the time: Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk.

The biggest takeaway for me was her idea that cities come before agriculture.

The conventional wisdom is that farming led to cities, but Jacobs argued the opposite. She believed that the first cities, like ancient trading hubs, gave rise to agriculture. The growing urban populations created a need for a steady food supply, which in turn drove innovation in farming methods.

This single idea changed my world-building forever.

I used to calculate how many farmers it would take to feed an urban population of 10,000. But what if, as Jacobs suggests, a lot of food came from within the city itself?

I started mapping cities with more orchards, gardens, and even small fields within their walls. Small animals like goats became common. This new approach allowed me to draw maps with a much smaller rural footprint, which was essential for my 7 Cities campaign at the time, where each city-state needed to feed itself.

My city designs shifted from dense, modern layouts to sprawling settlements with internal food sources. Even my towns and villages changed. I learned to add details like small herb gardens and vegetable patches to my descriptions for flavor, which made the settlements feel more alive and self-sufficient.

Other key points from the book that have helped me build better worlds include:

  • Rural economies are city exports. Jacobs argued that rural areas don’t develop on their own. They are extensions of urban economies, where new technologies and activities developed in the city are exported to the countryside.
  • Innovation comes from existing work. New ideas and products aren’t built in a vacuum. They come from adding a new activity to an existing one, creating innovation.
  • Import replacement fuels growth. A city grows explosively when it starts to produce goods and services it used to import. This creates a cycle of growth, local jobs, and economic diversification.
  • Specialization can be a trap. Cities that specialize in a single major industry are vulnerable. A diverse mix of small, “inefficient” businesses makes a city more resilient and adaptable to change.
  • Small businesses are key. The real drivers of a city’s economy are small, innovative enterprises, not large guilds or government projects. These small businesses have the flexibility to experiment, leading to the new work that keeps a city thriving.

Whether these theories are true, I know not. They do, however, provide a fantastic framework for building more varied, creative, and believable settlements.

I no longer feel the need to tie every city down with massive farm fields. I can describe small merchants as the spear tip of innovation, creating cool new gear and plot hooks for my players. These ideas let me build city-states that not only survive on their own but can also spawn nations over time.

CampaignCraft Update

Speaking of settlements, I have published two new lessons in How to Build a Village for CampaignCraft GMs.

I’ve also shared my new Village Template, which has five sections to help your world building:

  1. Concept & Setting
  2. Sociopolitical Structure
  3. Population & Culture
  4. Economy & Resources
  5. Places & Hooks

Embedded throughout the template are story elements like secrets, connections, a Soap Opera Web, Story Arc & Beat, Central Conflict, and more.

The lessons also include tables for many of the template items, letting you roll or pick to make settlement design quick and fun.

CampaignCraft GMs, login here to access your new loot.

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Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
Have more fun at every game!

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