Zone 1

Zone 1 is the most central Zone within the city of Birdencaster ^{[image in the Sidebar]}. Zone 1 is put aside for entertainment, such as the arena, squares and plazas. Zone 4 is where people need to go to Bars and Restaurants. Zone 1 is renowned for its meeting places and is used as such. On The Great Day of Celebration, Zone 1 is used to celebrate.

People

Residents

Zone 1 is the only Zone which doesn’t have residents, so the citizens that are there are visitors from other parts of Birdencaster and employees of the arena.

Visitors

Visitors to the Zone will tend to pick a place they enjoy within the Zone. For example, they may choose a garden that is lower down than at the normal level of everything else or choose a plaza that has more statues. Zone 1 is usually a good place to meet, as everyone knows where it is and how to identify the squares, plazas and gardens. This is not to say that they don’t meet in the meeting places in their own Zone and Segment. They generally meet in Zone 1 if they want a change or they are meeting people from other Zones and Segments.

Places

Arena

by James Woodwright

The arena is found in the centre of the Zone. The arena itself is only open on Thursdays, to celebrate The Great Day of Celebration. While the arena is not open, it is repaired and maintained. It also used for rehearsals and to try out new entertainments with no danger to the audience if anything goes wrong. The arena is modelled on the Colosseum in Rome. While the Colosseum in Rome is oval-shaped and holds 50,000 People, the arena can hold up to 75,000 and is circular. Not everyone can sit in the arena so if they want a seat they have to be quick. The seating arrangements use the bleacher seating system, which means that the audience uses the steps as the seats. Unlike the Colosseum in Rome, the arena holds four statues of a figure holding a sword or spear ^{[Image Left]} The citizens have found that certain areas of steps for seating don’t make much sense, as the statues of the arena cover some of the performance areas.

Squares and Gardens

Since the arena is in the centre of the Zone, and there is a street encircling the arena, the squares and gardens go around the street. Squares are majoritively paved and sometimes have statues. The squares that are located in Zone 1 are named after celebratory concepts such as Achievement Square, Anniversary Square, Celebration Plaza and Desire Square. The gardens which go in between the squares tend to be multilayered with steps. These have been later changed so that most steps have ramps for the physically disabled. The paths in these gardens have been carved out by the citizens. These are called desire paths.

Attractions

Transportation to and from the Zone

Each Segment of Zone 2, has a street that leads into Zone 1. Therefore Zone 1 has 13 streets, one for each Segment and one for the perimeter of the arena. What is noteworthy about the streets of Zone 1, is that there are street signs on each intersection showing which Segment the walker or cyclist will find themselves in.

by James Woodwright

Unlike with other Zones where the street style doesn’t change with each Zone, it does with Zone 1. With Zone 1 the cobbled streets are in an arching pattern and, since this style is curved, it goes around the arena in a clockwise direction. Walking in that direction means that the number on the signs goes up. Lastly, there is a transition between the streets of Zone 1 and Zone 2, which has a “fade” so that the street styles don’t end and start abruptly. The central street that encircles the arena has arches ^{[Image Left]} that mark the street intersections. There are 3 for each intersection.