De Noc (World's Largest Hand-Drawn Fictional Map) (watch, sports, shops)

[Bear Up North]

Welcome to the world of De Noc. Those of you who like cities, metros, maps, statistics......this thread may be for you. For me, just past a spry 61 and still gainfully-employed it is a simple and all-too-brief explanation of a hobby that has consumed thousands of hours of my life.

In The Beginning
When I was a junior in high school I took a Sociology class. The teacher decided to present to the class, from day 1, an urban setting, designed by the students.....and with a focus on studying the outcomes of decisions made as urban areas grow. It was an interesting and learning experience.....and I followed that example by starting to draw a city map when I was home. The hobby started in 1965.

Physical Info
Each plat (644 acres) is on a sheet of paper that is 22.5" x 17.5". As of early September, 2009, there are 451 actual plats drawn. 270 plats are for the city of De Noc. 183 are suburban plats. If laid-out in a gymnasium the actual size would be approximately 49' x 44'. Every plat has all of the roads, expressways, lakes and streams, buildings, and houses indicated. Every building is tagged with a name. I cheat on the houses, though......they are drawn quickly, just to get a population count as I finish (or update or re-draw) each plat.

Of course, adjacent plats link to each other. With the physical size of Metropolitan De Noc, it is quite an undertaking to make certain that logic prevails. To help this cause I also have much smaller (with very little detail) maps that help me make sure that West Roxbury Trail (example) follows the same general direction whether drawn in 1970 (on the east side) or 2009 (on the west side). I also have hundreds of charts that I use to make sure there is logical (and business need) determinations of the locations of retail, restaurants, lodging, etc.

In addition to the nearly-500 hand-drawn maps, I have hundreds of spreadsheets (good ole' Excel) that provide huge amounts of information about the metro. (More details in a later post.)

Geographic Location & Community Details
De Noc is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with an altered history that has given us a 51st state, Northern Michigan. De Noc is the capitol. The actual location is on the shores of Lake Michigan's Big Bay De Noc. (I have even written a modest history that presents a logical sequence of events that led to the creation and growth of this metro.)

Because every plat I draw has a determined population, based on the number of houses and the multi-family drwelling counts, I always have census data at-the-ready. De Noc's population is now at 1,256,565. The metro population is 2,086,959. Even though the metro has nearly 80 suburbs, De Noc is one of the few large USA cities that has a significant central city to suburb population ratio.

Because it is a hobby, I have taken the liberty of making modifications to some of the geography in the area that De Noc is located. Most of those mods were to inland lakes and streams......and I have created some additional inland lakes.

Other Details
I have a ton of details to share about De Noc. Watch for future posts! Those details include.....

High-rise buildings in De Noc (and suburbs).
Government facilities and details.
Power generation (De Noc Edison Company).
De Noc Metropolitan Park Board (more than 22,000 acres)
Education (3 large univresities and more)
Health care (Major hospitals)
Transit (Highly-acclaimed rapid transit system)
Central Business District (Downtown) - Shopping, Casinos, SkyTube
Waterfront development
Urban Renewal Districts
Manufacturing (The "Plastic City")
Research centers
Northern Michigan International Grand Prix Race Course
Convention centers
Recreation
Whitefish Causeway (I-43)
Interstate Highways (Including I-43 and I-98)
And so much more.....

Therapy
Like any hobby, working on my fake city provides a sort of therapy from the everyday world. I may go a few weeks and not touch the hobby and follow that with 3 days of intense activity.

A few years ago I began to share the details of De Noc with real urban planners, on a Forum that is focused on planning. Now it is time to share some fun facts with non-planners who may be inhabiting this particular forum.

More later!


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Bear

[J'aimeDesVilles]

Can't wait to see more on this. You are either a genius or crazy! (not sure there is much difference) LOL.
I have always had an interest in geography/sociology/urban planning and just recently graduated with a degree in Urban Planning after returning to college for a mid-life career change. Throughout life I had thought about doing a factitious country or city but never followed thru with it. Back in the 1980s I had a roommate in college that was doing factitious metro area. So it is not that uncommon. But I bet few if any have done this on so grand a scale and over such a length of time.
Btw how do the Yoopers feel about a large urban area in their midst?
Keep up the good work and let us in on more info asap.

[Bear Up North]

Sorry, but "genius" is not in my genetic makeup. "Crazy" just may be.

As I indicated in my opening post, I have spent considerable time on this hobby. And, I have given some thought to how residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula would feel about a huge metropolitan area in their midst. I can only offer the (fictional city / fictional history) explanation that the community began to grow back in the mid-1800s and never stopped growing.

More later.

Bear

[jzynblgs]

WOW, WOW, WOW.

So interesting and intelligent.... wish i could sustain a hobby like that.

[540_804]

Nice. Very interesting.
You're on Cyburbia, no?

If you ever decide to scan/photograph the individual plats, I think you should post them in the Creative Corner, 2D Designs section of Skyscrapercity.com

I'm sure they would love them over there.

[harry chickpea]

Have you thought of licensing to Sim-City?

[Bear Up North]

PDF attachment is an Excel spread of Metropolitan De Noc. To get an idea of the true size of the city, each cell (example would be the small suburb of Kingstown) represents a large drawing that is 22.5" x 17.5".

More later.

Bear

[Bear Up North]

Here are some additional details about Metropolitan De Noc.....

CBD
De Noc's central business district is typical of a very large American city. The downtown is primarily a traditional grid pattern of streets, with north-south streets named after U.S. presidents and east-west streets named after U.S. states. Government buildings downtown include a huge Federal Building, a City-County Government Building, both Federal and county courthouses......and numerous other public buildings.

The CBD is just a tad larger than a square mile. The northern edge of downtown includes City Museum and a "hip" area (coffeeshops, art galleries, warehouse lofts) along Plum Street. The De Noc Regional Waterfront Partnership was instrumental in developing The Commons, an area of open green space (primarily lawn, with a pavilion), just west of the museum.

The eastern edge of the CBD includes many newer office towers and a small linear park that provides a walkway to Orange Lake, a halfr-mile distance. The east-central CBD includes a number of high-rise hotels and a couple casinos. The western edge of the CBD is halted by the huge railyards of the North Central Railroad and the large junction of the South Expressway and NM 8 (Western Expressway).

Most government buildings are in the north-central CBD. Most department stores and the remaining indoor shopping mall are in the northeastern CBD. The southern portions of the CBD include the Convention Center, high-rise hotels, and casinos.

Stretching for a mile to the west of the Convention Center is the De Noc Sports Complex, which includes stadiums for baseball, hockey, baskletball (and events), and football. These venues all share the same parking lots.

Skyline
Metropolitan De Noc has almost 250 high-rise buildings (10 floors or more). In the CBD there are are 16 buildings that are 500' or higher. Many neighborhoods of De Noc and some of the suburbs also have high-rise buildings, mostly apartments or condos.

De Noc's tallest office building is One Jackson Center (756' - 63 floors). The tallest occupied structure is Star Tower, an observation tower (patterned after Toronto's CN Tower).....at 800'. Star Tower is located in the destination suburb of Katie Shores.
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Bear