And an explainer&#x2F;simulator here: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;vis.csh.ac.at&#x2F;cities-morphology&#x2F;#&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;vis.csh.ac.at&#x2F;cities-morphology&#x2F;#&#x2F;</a>

Here&#x27;s a preprint from 2025: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;arxiv.org&#x2F;abs&#x2F;2507.00100v1" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;arxiv.org&#x2F;abs&#x2F;2507.00100v1</a>

I forget that actual reference.But there was an article or map or something talking about the placement of towns, I think, back east (or the south, or Virginia).Simply, the towns were placed within a days travel of each other. And the communities they served were, effectively, about a 1&#x2F;3rd days travel in radius. That&#x27;s how far folks would go to get into town, and being a day apart facilitated long range travel instead of camping in the wilderness.The towns were basically small towns designed to serve those local communities. Cities formed on the intersections of such roads to support more trade and traffic.I don&#x27;t recall if it talked about towns along rivers where transit might be faster.But it was an interesting article with a map of actual towns.

I think the best shape for a city is a Mobius strip: go anywhere without turns, so no traffic lights needed.

I was going to dismiss this and then I read the whole abstract and that is, pretty much what it says. Oh but I guess it also says they came up with a model for how far apart things are determining how far you have to travel to get there

Well stop clapping you stupid gitIykyk

Without getting behind the paywall, the abstract says that how far you have to travel determines how far you have to travel??

What is the best shape of a city? Modelling effect of urban form on distance