Talk:Ankh-Morpork

Where is Downtown?

In Night Watch, when talking about the Watch Houses, Knock says ...I hate to think what's happening downtown. I was wondering what is considered 'downtown'.

It is cetainly not the Dimwell Street (that is mentioned in the same conversation) or Treacle Mine Road and I would guess that it isn't Long Wall, Leastgate or Nap Hill either. So this leaves, the HQ (Isle of Gods), Chittling Street (The Shades) or Dolly Sisters areas.

The UU area, Esoteric Street down to the river (Street of Alchemist) would be my choice, though I haven't seen any mention of a Watch House in this area. Maybe it would be the whole of the Dolly Sisters and UU area.

Any ideas as to which area of Ankh-Morpork is considered 'Downtown'? --mikecook 20:00, 27 July 2006 (CEST)

I should think you'd worked that out by now, but as the geographer: isn't it bigger than a mile across? (28 sq.ft. per person?) ...Old Dickens 21:30 EST 30 Aug 2006

"Downtown" usually means "down to the water", sometimes just the old, built-up area. In either case, this would likely be the Shades, which is also where Knock could expect the most trouble. ..Old Dickens 13:25 EST 5 Sep 2006

My initial thoughts were also that it meant the Shades. The problem seems that Knock would then be talking about something that is happening only a couple of streets away. In the conversation of Knock he was talking about people throwing stones at the Dimwell Street House when he mentions downtown. This would mean there should be a Watch House there. As they themselves are in the only watch house I know of in the area (Treacle Mine), why would he talk in that way about the Shades? This is why I think it is another part of the city.

Possibly it could be the located around The Drum, Short Street, Cheapside, Baker Street, etc. There seems to be a lot of commercial activity in this area. --mikecook 00:45, 6 September 2006 (CEST)

Dimwell seems to be across the river, so also "downtown" toward the sea. However, he doesn't have to be restricted to Watch houses. Treacle Mine Road is "uptown" (just) from the whole Shades. ..Old Dickens 20:20 EST 6 Sep 2006

...More haggling over the Shades, etc. _ A quote from Men At Arms: "(Gaspode) was somewhere beyond the Shades, in the network of dock basins and cattle yards..." This sounds sensible; how could commerce go on if the Shades cut off all that dockland? Even the crazier Patricians wouldn't allow it. Does the 'DW Mapp' show the borders you give? - Re: "uptown", have you considered elevations in A-M? The Isle of Gods is described as high ground, safe from the water table and above the worst of the smell. I suspect the turnwise bank is generally higher than the Morpork side; this is the way many cities work, the higher bank being the upper-class area, with the low-rent district down on the flood plain. - I still say one mile across is impossible. I seem to remember that it was eight miles, but I haven't found the line again. --Old Dickens 00:38, 17 September 2006 (CEST)