# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Town/City Mapping >  Town Buildings List

## Green-Pilgrim

How many of you have tried to figure out what buildings (type and number) you would need when designing a settlement?

Well, this is an attempt to start a thread (perhaps sticky) for all of the types of buildings / structures that you'd possibly find. I know that as soon as I post this I'll remember 5 more things to add. Please list any additions you can think of.

Thanks!
-GP

Housing
1. Peasant
2. Commoner
3. Merchant
4. Bureaucrat
5. Political
6. Noble
7. Military (barracks)

Trade
1. Blacksmith
2. Carpenter
3. Potter
4. Glassblower
5. Tailor
6. Leatherworker
7. Armorsmith
8. Weaponsmith
9. Alchemist
10. Stables (mounts)
11. Mageware
12. Spices
13. Cloth
14. Slaves
15. Rare Materials
16. Exotic Materials / Creatures
17. Map Vendor
18. Book Seller (and scribal supplies)
19. Brothel
20. Inn

Religious
1. Temple
2. Shrine
3. Church
4. Sanctuary

Economic 
-Markets (where trades are clustered together)
1. Spice Market
2. Slave Market
3. Cloth Market
4. Iron Market
5. Food Market
-Locations
1. Docks
2. Warehouse
3. Granary

Materials
1. Quarry
2. Lumberjack's Camp
3. Hunter's Camp
4. Mine
5. Farm
6. Smelting Furnace
7. Plantation

Recreation
1. Tavern
2. Inn
3. Pub
4. Gladiator / Fighter pits

Education
1. Fighter School
2. Mage School
3. Priest School (temple?)
4. Library

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## Stuart Shaw

Great start Green-Pilgrim ... here is a list of Medieval Occupations I have compiled ... not sure if it is 100% accurate in terms of the commonality of the occupations as it is only based on my own assumptions.  But this would help in terms of building regularity (i.e. number of buildings per occupation per city) .   :Wink:

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## Larb

There are so so many that it is difficult to compile a truly exhaustive list.

It's also worth considering who supplies who as well. For example the alchemist needs "raw" alchemicals, and the scribier/map maker will need paper. The tailor will need cloth which means weavers and dyers. Also in a town you might not have say, a basket weaver. That would likely be something someone's wife or children do to earn extra money, which they'd sell on to traders at market.

And it is culture dependent too. Certain occupations might be slightly different depending on the culture. For example, if people are buried in barrel-shaped coffins, then your cooper is also the coffinmaker (this kind of thing can be fun to play with then world building I think).

Also don't forget your cheapest-source-of-light maker. Generally the (tallow) candlemaker (a smelly job). It might vary depending on the world (for example in mine the cheapest source of light is a chemoluminescent mixture - something which leads to conflict between the people who make those and the people who make candles).

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## Green-Pilgrim

Awesome List!

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## Green-Pilgrim

Yup - you're right Larb, we'll probably not be able to make an exhaustive list because there are too many variables for each person's world to nail them all down. However we could probably have a "these are your basics" list so that when you're designing a map you can pick and choose the number of buildings you'd need and what they're used for.

...and I totally forgot about a candlemaker.

I wonder, in a world where wizards can pop off a light spell at the flip of a finger...would there be candlemaker strikes?

hehe.

Thanks for the followup!

-GP

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## Bogie

Great list, but keep in mind that back then people were not that specialized.  One person did many of those jobs.  The shepherd, did his own shearing, built his own barn, raised a small garden and occasionally was conscripted to help build the road or bridge.

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## Realmwright

This a great list. Very extensive. Any ideas whether D&D 4E included a dice table to random roll occupations?

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## vorropohaiah

funny how theres a fighter school, priest school and wizard school... but no mundane school!

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## Cunning Cartographer

> funny how theres a fighter school, priest school and wizard school... but no mundane school!


That's not necessarily out of the ordinary, a mundane school would be more of a public school and, depending on the setting, these probably didn't even exist. To get an education then you would have to pay for it, which would mean being sent to one of the private guild schools (Wizard, Priest, Fighter, etc.) unless there is some law that dictates an education (Robin Hobb: Soldier Son, the first born is the heir, the second born the soldier son, third born priest, etc.). More commonly people would have private tutors if they were rich/privileged enough, or if in a castle/keep then the children may be taught together in lessons.

The first public education systems were generally pushed by various priesthoods to spread religion, or by those who wanted to spread knowledge (Confucius).

So not necessarily a given, depends on the world and history  :Smile: 



Also, to the OP, hand guide for how many different trade buildings you are likely to find in cities/town of various sizes: http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/demog.htm

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## veracusse

Though in medieval times, children of the wealthy and nobility would often get a religious education. If I remember my medieval history correctly, many of the Christian monks would be the teachers.  But, indeed, an education would generally be the privilege of the rich.

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## Wingshaw

I thought the point of this thread was a general reference list of all the types of building that COULD be found in a settlement. It isn't really relevant whether ordinary schools existed or not; some towns MIGHT have had schools, and so they should be included in the list. 

As an aside, I also strongly suspect that schools did exist in towns in the past, they just weren't as common as we know them today. I haven't verified this, so it might be wrong, but: in Muslim society, children would often go to the madrasa, where they would receive instruction in both religious and non-religious matters; schools have existed in Christian countries for centuries, and I would be very surprised if the same wasn't true of China, India and Japan, not to mention other places.

One thing to consider, though, is that schools were not always located in schoolhouses. I could easily imagine that in some rural village in, say, England, a charitable vicar would volunteer to teach the children inside the Church or Town Hall. It was a less formal, more fluid arrangement than now.

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## foremost

Some really interesting stuff here. Thanks to Green-Pilgrim for starting this thread. I want to do a smaller town, and hopefully I can master a 3-D look to it by doing illustrations for the buildings. The recent featured work by _Blaidd Drwg_ is an excellent example of what I'll be trying to do - (only I'll be working on a smaller scale). This is very helpful - the part I like most about that featured map is how each building is detailed.

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## Cunning Cartographer

@TheHoarseWhisperer

It's a fair point that you COULD potentially find a school, but by that same principle you COULD potentially find a "Dragon Breeder" and any other number of miscellaneous buildings. I was going more along the lines of it isn't typical to find a "school" as for the general fantasy setting (medieval English type era combined with high fantasy), as you yourself have correctly identified, most "schools" were done in monasteries, mosques, etc. Schools have differed over the years and have indeed existed in one form or another, Spartans were taught to fight and read, but given that they had a warrior culture I wouldn't say this is the typical "school" that most people would identify with and is probably more accurate to the listed "Warrior School". The variations of different types of school are all dependent on too many factors to be listed.

There's no parameters to the list (era/high fantasy/technology level/culture) so the list is pretty much endless anyway.

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## vorropohaiah

i just find it difficult to undestand how a palce without the resources or inclination for a mundane university to then have a wizards school, which to all intents and purposes would be a far more exclusive and intense version of what medieval/reinassance universities/colleges were. just seems odd to me

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## Counlin

> i just find it difficult to undestand how a palce without the resources or inclination for a mundane university to then have a wizards school, which to all intents and purposes would be a far more exclusive and intense version of what medieval/reinassance universities/colleges were. just seems odd to me


Acyually I don't think its necessarely the way you said, Depending on the world a wizards school could be "more mundane" than a mundane school (if that makes any sense). 

At this point I agree with what was already said here: till where my knowledge goes, there were not many "mundane schools" where children went and learned math and reading/writing. From what I know there were specific schools where children would learn the basics and a specific skill (fighting, priesting, knighting, and others "ings"  :Razz: ).

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## Cunning Cartographer

Schools/education would be established by:

- Specialty organizations/guilds out of their own pocket
- Those who wish to spread knowledge/religion
- The state through taxes

If your ruler isn't bothered about bringing public education to the masses and considers knowledge/education but another tool by which to keep the poor and uneducated under heel, then they wouldn't fund a public school. Whereas guilds and specialty organizations probably have a direct control over their pupils and/or train them for a specific purpose which suits the organizations/guilds needs, or (which is more typical) it is considered more of a private school and people would have to pay to join it.

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## vorropohaiah

> If your ruler isn't bothered about bringing public education to the masses and considers knowledge/education but another tool by which to keep the poor and uneducated under heel, then they wouldn't fund a public school. Whereas guilds and speciality organizations probably have a direct control over their pupils and/or train them for a specific purpose which suits the organizations/guilds needs, or (which is more typical) it is considered more of a private school and people would have to pay to join it.


this i like, a lot, though again a specific point. very characterful, though still i dont see why, if one is including a table of generic things, mundane 'schools' would be left out in favour of the more esoteric.

then again we may be arguing semantics. my natural tendency is to assume a very low-magic world. this list might be a more traditional high-magic setting, in which case fair enough

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## Wingshaw

I haven't gone through the whole list of buildings on this list, but it seems kinda funny that schools have become the battleground of choice in this thread.

In response to Yospeck and the comments since: you're right, the list is endless. That's why I was reluctant to comment on this thread before, and why I doubt the usefulness of this list (no disrespect meant to the original poster). Perhaps a more useful thing would be, instead of a list, a glossary of town buildings - give each building a short description that explains its historical background.

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## Natai

Here's a couple of small lists I previously compiled.  They contain a mix of both modern and medieval/fantasy locations.  There may be a couple of duplicates between the lists.

Docks
Entertainment
Public Works
Government Official
Government employee
Government (Admin positions)
Sanitation
Mercenary
Merchant
Military
Temples/ Religious
Travel
Education
Warehousing
Medical 
Law Enforcement
Law
Emergency Services (Fire)
Food Processing
Food Production
Weaponsmith
Armorer
Gunsmith
Protection/ Security
Clothing Production
Maids/Servants
Barbers
Jewelers
Food Service
Second-hand Goods
Cook
Baker
Butcher
Carpenter/ Woodworker
Stone worker
Metal worker
Plumber
Electrician
Electronics Expert
Computer Expert
Animal Barding & Harnesses
Animal Trainer
Woodcutter
Book maker
Fisherman
Modern construction
Spice grower
Painter
Locksmith
Tanner
Messenger
Artist
Rugmaker
Bookseller
Ammunition
Scholar
Archaeologist
Explorer
Private investigator
Banker
Middle man/ broker
Tool maker
Advertising/PR
Agricultural manufacturer
Combat/ Martial Arts instructor
Machinist
Alcohol farmer
Vehicle mechanic
Clothing alterations
Communications tech
Caregiver
Athlete
Gladiator
Attorney
Magistrate
Heavy equipment
Jailer
Fishing supply
Dance instructor
Architect
Power production/ storage specialist
Bedding
Exterminator
Beverage producer
Distributor
Vehicle dealer
Animal control/ handler
Medical equipment
herbalist
pharmacist
Smithy
Undertaker
Grounds keeper
tax collector
HVAC
furniture maker
Travel outfitter
gambling hall owner/operator
Drotik breeder
breeder
breeder
casket maker
materials production
chemical production
mining
fertilizer distributer
garbage collection
waste processor
counselor
equipment operator
trapper
forensic specialist
fabric maker
glassworker

Agricultural tools, implements
Wagons
Art stores and artist materials
Books
Boots and shoes
Vehicle parts
butchers and meat dealers
Grain merchant
Livestock merchant
Farm produce
Candy confectionary
Cigars and tobacco
carpets and rugs
clothing store
Coal/fuel
lumber and wood
coffee and tea
crockery, glassware
curios, antiques, novelties
drugs and medicines
Dry goods
Florist
Flour and feed
Fruit
Furniture
Furs, leather, and hides
Electrical supplies
General stores
Grocieries
Hardware, stoves, cutlery
Harnesses and saddles
Ice and ice powder
Jewelry
Junk store
Pawnshop
Milk and dairy
Music and instruments
Newsdealer
Oil, paint, wallpaper
Optometrist
Produce and provisions
Rags
Stationary
Publisher
Printing press
Dentist
Library
Museum
Barber
Pool hall
Dance hall/club
Lodging
Foundry
Smelter
Tavern

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## Green-Pilgrim

To continue and expand on this thread I'm working on a list of trade guilds within a capital city within a Pathfinder Campaign.

So far I have:

Alchemy
Scribal (Paper making, record keeping, book production, etc.)
Banking

...and that's where I drew a blank.

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## Wingshaw

Green Pilgrim: just look up 'livery companies' on Wikipedia. There's a list of all the guilds of London; they're even in the order of preeminence within the city.

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## WillP

GP:

There should also be:
Miller
Smith
Armorer
Physicians and Herbalists
Cooper
Weaver

Just to name a few more.

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## Mark Oliva

From the Game Master's Guide of our free _Dungeons Daring_ (TM) RPG:

Armor-/Weaponsmith
Assayer
Bakery
Barrelmaker
Boat Builder
Bookbinder
Bookkeeper
Brewery
Butcher
Carpenter
Cartographer
Chandler
Coachman
Coal Dealer
Cobbler
Consulting Mage
Dairy
Distillery
Docks
Feed dealer
Firewood Dealer
Foundry
General Store
Glazier
Goldsmith
Grain Mill
Harbor
Herbal Apothecary
Herbal Witch
Horse Trader
Inn
Jeweler
Kiln
Library (Private)
Mason
Mercenary Company
Money Changer
Painter
Parchment Maker
Professional Healer
Professionals
Public house with rooms
Public house
Raftsman
Rendering (Tallow)
Sage
Sawmill
School
Scribe
Shipbuilder
Slaughterhouse
Smithy
Spinning Mill
Stone Quarry
Tailor/Seamstress
Tannery
Temple with Services
Timber Operation
Tinker
Tinsmith
Toolmaker
Trading Coster
Village, Town or City Hall
Vintner
Wainwright
Warehouse

For more info or to download _Dungeons Daring_:

http://www.vintyri.org

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## Gumboot

This is a hard list to contribute to without knowing at least the time period. A medieval town is very different to a classical era town, which is very different to a modern town. Medieval towns were pretty small - between about 2,000 and 7,000 people - and functioned primarily as trading markets for the surrounding farming villages which they supported. A typical town would have very little in it - between 2 and 5 tradesmen offering services not available in individual villages, a couple of inns/taverns, and a bunch of merchants.

Of course it's all dependent on context. A larger town on a main route between a couple of cities would have many more inns, while a town near a coast would likely have fishmongers.

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## Ninja8370

Awesome thread! I will be sure to use this. I'm building a Minecraft city in Single-player (just to find out it'll probably be a hamlet with a wall around it XD.) I have hosted a server before, so I could again, if there was someone interested in building a real city on Minecraft. (for those who don't know Minecraft is a 3D gaming system with an extensive community, so the server could get plugins like WorldEdit and WorldPainter to make the building a little easier.) I will definitely use this thread to help me build this town and any in the future  :Very Happy:

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## Green-Pilgrim

Yup - the thread was created, essentially, to get people to add their own ideas. Since there are so many possible variations of a 'town list', the idea of having LOTS of possible locations (we're up to 3 pages now) is always useful.  :Smile: 

Thanks folks and keep 'em coming!

-GP

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## Jalyha

:Frown:  I thought I had my populations all figured out, then I come back here, and I don't have even half of this stuff!  :Razz:

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## waldronate

A critical point of these lists is that not every town will be able to support every one of those industries. Armorers, for example, are highly-specialized tradesfolk that will typically be present in only the largest gatherings of rich people. Those in smaller trade centers will need to travel to find an armorer. Similarly, every village may not have a blacksmith, but there will likely be at least one for every few villages to repair the day-to-day items. Farmers or other fundamental producers are likely to be found in virtually every hamlet.

Central place theory ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_place_theory for a useful overview ) is a useful starting point for helping to determine regional trade patterns; these trade patterns and a good idea of how large/rich your town is can help in understanding what's present in your town. Note that the ideal drawings shown in the above-referenced article assume a uniform landscape with no impediments to travel. Also note that the "distance" referenced is approximately a time-of-travel/energy-of-travel value. Barriers to travel such as large rivers, mountains, deserts, or even hostile local governments (under which oversized flying lizards can be broadly grouped) will all significantly affect the shape of the network; enhancements to travel such as good roads, navigable rivers, and even trade-friendly law enforcement groups will push the network shapes in the other direction. I know that I would much rather (and have) detour down a well-maintained and well-patrolled road than go a shorter distance through more dangerous territory, especially if takes about the same amount of time.

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## Jalyha

> A critical point of these lists is that not every town will be able to support every one of those industries. Armorers, for example, are highly-specialized tradesfolk that will typically be present in only the largest gatherings of rich people. Those in smaller trade centers will need to travel to find an armorer. Similarly, every village may not have a blacksmith, but there will likely be at least one for every few villages to repair the day-to-day items. Farmers or other fundamental producers are likely to be found in virtually every hamlet.



Yeah my problem is that I did calculations for how many of each profession there would be, including everything from nobility to beggars to children - and used really precise numbers (within 20) of my total *national* population... and then figured out how many farms/farmers/livestock I would need to support them... and now I realize my calculations are way off because there'd be a lot of these things I missed *somewhere* in my country  :Razz: 

So, back to the math-y stuff, I suppose :/

Or maybe I'll just make it pretty and inaccurate...

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## David South

Sorry to necro this old thread, but I realized that everyone who commented was focusing on the 'quality' parts of a city/town, not the parts that aren't as pretty or functional. Such as:

slumsruinscollapsed buildingssewersbrothelsdrug denssinkholestrash pitsseemingly normal small businesses that are actually fronts for illicit activityshantytownsareas where the homeless gatherleper colonies

I guess it shows that I like my fantasy gritty and harsh, with lots of problems and externalities.

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## CharlesRobinson

If you can get a copy of the old Thieves World RPG boxed set, it has an awesome system for populating cities.

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## perlygatekeeper

> How many of you have tried to figure out what buildings (type and number) you would need when designing a settlement?
> 
> Well, this is an attempt to start a thread (perhaps sticky) for all of the types of buildings / structures that you'd possibly find. I know that as soon as I post this I'll remember 5 more things to add. Please list any additions you can think of.
> 
> Thanks!
> -GP


Cook
Baker
Tinker
Candle Maker
Mortician
Fletcher/Bow Maker
Musical Instrument Maker

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## isais007

> Great start Green-Pilgrim ... here is a list of Medieval Occupations I have compiled ... not sure if it is 100% accurate in terms of the commonality of the occupations as it is only based on my own assumptions.  But this would help in terms of building regularity (i.e. number of buildings per occupation per city) .


I can't seem to open up the attachment is there a way that you can possibly email me that list?

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## Lysylya

There's a great book for info on building towns and cities within a magical medieval setting called 
"Magical Medieval Society Western Europe" from Expeditious Retreat Press which is well worth taking a look at.
It has content and tables associated with mapping towns and cities to areas of land, as well as identifying what wards would be present in population centers of different sizes.  There are also frequency charts of a particular type of workplace being found in a given ward of a particular type.
If you're interested in that sort of thing, I would definitely look this book up.
That aside, here's a list of workshops, shops and offices that they came up with.

*Workshops:*
CobblersFurnature MakersFurriersWeaversBasket MakersCarpentersPaper/ParchmentmakersPottersWheelwrightsJewelersMasonsBakersSoapmakersChandlersCoopersPastry MakersScabbard MakersSilversmithsSaddlers and SpurriersPurse MakersBlacksmithsGoldsmithsToymakersArtistsLeatherworkersRope MakersTannersBuckle MakersCutlersFullersHarness MakersPaintersWoodcarversGlass MakersInstrument MakersLocksmithsRug MakersSculptorsBleachersShipmakersBookbindersBowyer/FletchersBrewersGlove MakersVintnerGirdlersSkinnersArmorersWeaponsmithsDistillersIlluminatorsPerfumerTilersPotionmakersClock MakersTaxidermistsVestment MakersAlchemistsBellmakersDye MakersInventors

*SHOPS*
Clothiers, UsedGrocersDairy sellersLaunderersProstitutesFurriersTailorsBarbersDrapersFlowersellersJewelersMercersEngraversPawnbrokerHaberdashersWine MerchantsTinkersButchersFishmongersWool MerchantsBeer MerchantsHerbalistsSpice MerchantsWoodsellersBrothel KeepersHay MerchantsBooksellersReligious souvenir sellersDentistsNavel OutfittersGrain MerchantsTobacco merchantsMagic Merchants


*OFFICES*
Livestock merchantsCarpentersMasonsPawnbrokerWine MerchantsDoctors, UnlicensedWool MerchantsBeer MerchantsSpice MerchantsDoctors, LicensedCopyistsMoneychangersSage/scholarAdvocates (lawyers)HistoriansEngineersArchitectsAstrologersGrain MerchantsTobacco merchantsBankersSlaversCartographersMagic Merchants

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## AliceBlackBow

Thank you for the list!

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## Jaxilon

This goes to show the depth of this site. I haven't seen this until just today while digging for some town maps. 

But since I'm here you might love this link: http://arcana.wikidot.com/list-of-me...an-professions

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## donpaulo

I think its also important to factor in regional issues such as trade routes, difficult terrain, low hanging fruit resources vs more intensive investment schemes, as well as weather patterns.
They naturally lead to all sorts of interesting things to map. 

For example
If there are regular floods, then there will be a very important engineering guild which will be in need of large numbers of day laborers during certain times of the year. Is there a market for these workers ? are they slaves ? indentured servants ?
Where does the financing for this kind of settlement pattern come from. Clearly a kind of banking group which then needs some protection. 
Where do these workers live ? are they migrants or localized ? If they travel they will be in need of transport. What forms will the city or town be using ? water based ? land based ? If they are migrants perhaps there is a place to setup contracts which means there needs to be a kind of postal system. Money paid into contracts needs to be deposited and or delivered. 
Maybe the workers also have their own barter system where they exchange things they need such as temporary shelter, foodstuffs, clothing, footwear. The list is endless. What kind of shelters ? tents made of ? What kind of food ? This requires a food distribution and production business center. Clothing made of ? If its wool then the herders and all associated aspects of weaving need to be established. Footwear made of ? leather perhaps ?

and so on

I love all the lists on this thread btw

thanks so much for sharing

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## Bindusara

than you for the list, i copy it with my lists of workers in middle age (in french, ask me if you're interested by it).

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## Anestis

That is a very nice and thorough list.

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