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MyUplandCity - Newcastle upon Tyne
Words: Yudlugar
Photographs: Lang Shot Photography, reproduced with permission
Introduction
My second PUBLISH0X post, coincides with their second Upland writing contest. I'm sure I'm not the only one so here I am to give a brief pitch for my hometown city - Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Before we get to why Newcastle should be chosen, we first need to talk about international expansion. It's long been rumoured that Upland will be branching outside of the USA, especially since their late-2020 trailer featured a glimpse of Hong Kong. So far the team are keeping their cards close to their chest but with an ever-growing global user-base it is surely not too far away.
The Upland discord has frequent requests for London, alongside other European cities. This is no suprise, given a discord post from community leader X1theGamer gave the user-split by country, with the UK an, albeit distant, second highest location.
The team has indicated their desire to create 'hubs' with different tier cities. The west coast hub consists of San Francisco (Tier 1), Oakland (Tier 2) and three starter cities, Fresno, Clovis and Bakersfield (Tier 3). The east coast hub consists of Manhattan (Tier 1), Brooklyn (Tier 2) and Staten Island (Tier 3). The recent Hyperloop expansion also brought new hub cities, Chicago and Cleveland.
So, whilst it is possible that a 'European' hub is created, this seems very broad to cover a whole host of important cities. Similarly, a UK hub could consist of the national capitals - London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast (and perhaps Dublin). The question here is of course, is a nations Capital City a suitable choice for a Tier 3 starter?
This is where Newcastle-upon-Tyne fits, as an ideal Tier 3 choice for an international expansion for a UK (or, admittedly, England) hub. Situated in the North-East of the country, the region has the cheapest house prices in the country, whilst the city itself is steeped in culture, heritage and some of the best views around.
The Streets
Upland collection mechanism requires owning properties on certain streets, or in certain neighbourhoods in order to get a boost to earnings. Famous streets are commonly relied upon here, with the likes of Lombard Street in San Francisco, Wall Street in Manhattan and Wacker Drive in Chicago being amongst the rarest and most-sought collections in the game.
So it seems necessary, for a potential city to have something to contribute here. We don't need to look very far, a 2011 competition by The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment determined Grey Street in Newcastle to be 'The best street in Britain'
It's also needed to have some small streets suitable for rare, or even ultra-rare collections. There are not many better river views than those from Newcastle's Quayside Street.
The Neighbourhoods
Similar to many UK cities, the metropolis area of the city is ever expanding - the City of Gateshead is now separated by just a river (should a quick expansion be needed). Outside of the city centre there are several well-known neighbourhoods with their own identity.
To the east, Byker houses the old mining terraces and is perhaps best known from the much loved TV-show 'Byker Grove' (lets not talk about Geordie Shore, eh). A few miles further along the coast road brings you to the seaside, with Tynemouth and Whitley Bay. To the north Jesmond is quickly becoming the 'place-to-be' for the cultural and hipster crowd, whereas to the west hosts the diverse area of Fenham. Indeed, Gateshead itself has a thriving Jewish community and is widely regarded to be the forefront of Jewish scholarly activity in the country.
The 'Venues'
The most exclusive Upland collections are normally reserved for specific types of buildings, be they of historic or cultural significance. A potential expansion to the UK brings with it the opportunity to own historic Castles, Cathedrals and some institutions only found on these isles. Of course, there is one clear stand-out British Institution that everyone would want to own one of, and that is Greggs. Newcastle sweeps the board with the most Greggs in the country, with a whopping 29 stores, one of every 10,000 inhabitants of the city.
Those with a less pastry-based taste in landmark, will have their pick of historic buildings, such as the Theatre Royal, first built in 1788, or the Baltic Flour Mill, now a centre for culture and art, which was the first host of the Turner Prize outside of the Tate Galleries in London and Liverpool.
Or for a more modern flavour, the striking Sage Gateshead, home of the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra may appeal.
Closing comments
Without wanting to go on too long, we've only really scratched the surface and hopefully this has put the city on the radar of one or two. Certainly I've found one of the most enjoyable parts of my Upland journey being the discovery of new cities to learn about that otherwise I wouldn't encounter. Here are a couple more reasons to consider 'The Toon':
Mining: Like many towns and cities in the area, Newcastle was built on the mining industry and if there is one thing that will make people spend $$$$ in rash decisions it is a rumour of spark mining.
Travel: Aside from it's own metro system, Newcastle is on the main train line from London to Amsterdam. It's airport has flights around Europe and to the Middle East and the ferry port would be an ideal place from which to catch a bus to Holland.
Sport: Only joking. You'll need to make Middlesbrough if you want a good football team.
