How would an INTP go about designing an ideal city? What would be considered and how?
Oh gosh. Good question. So many things to consider. I'm giving you the very "quick" version. If it were reality, I'd take years to map it out and consider/analyze everything.
For me, I actually like when something is "presented to me" and then I can react according to what has been handed to me. So, if someone said, you have to build a city in northeast Arkansas. Then, I can go and research the topography, the weather, the wind, is it tornado country, earthquake country (how strong do we have to build the structures), what is everything we need to take into consideration, airports, location relative to other major transportation hubs, etc.
But, since I don't have a "real" location to think about here - I guess I'm just going to consider...well, everything. I'm analyzing from all angles. Should we build "up" (highly concentrated with high-rise apartment buildings), or should we build "out" (sprawling suburbs, etc.) Do we even have a choice based on the location? I'm probably starting (at least on paper) with the essentials that every city needs - and that's where my sketch would begin. In the heart of the city, when pencil first hits paper, I'm putting a police station, a fire department, a hospital, a government building (courthouse, etc.), a library, etc. I'm going to have a "downtown" commercial area - where shops and businesses can move in and where people can walk and talk. I'm putting in benches, nice looking landscape, etc. My residential streets will shoot off from this downtown area and they will be a system that "makes sense". I live in a city now where there is, for example, 8th Street and 8th Avenue. So, you can be on the corner of 8th and 8th, or 6th and 6th. That's stupid and I'd like to talk to whoever thought of that. Streets should be very easy to navigate and understand for newcomers, visitors, and tourists. Like, I think in San Diego, the downtown area has lettered streets running one way (A, B, C, D Streets) and numbers running the other way. Simple, basic, and maybe uncreative, but it works. It's very easy to understand.
I'm putting an airport on the outskirts of the city. I'm putting a K-12 school somewhere - I'd have to research why it's better to put it on one edge of the city (keep traffic out of the center of the city?), or if it's better to put it downtown, etc. I'm putting a nice park here and there. I want it to look nice and pleasant. But, more than that, I want it to work well for the people that go there. I want it to function properly. I don't want even one single thing where people can go, "What in the world were they thinking when they constructed this city?" Nothing will be thrown in at the last minute, or done haphazardly. It will all be well thought-out on paper first, consulting with experts in various fields and in city planning to make sure that everything has either (a) worked well in another city in the past, or (b) will work well this time, in this city.
And I want something about the city to stand out. There has to be at least one thing that is unique or different about this city. Maybe a really good zoo in a small city (which is rare) - which would cause incoming traffic, but would also spur tourism and growth. A great water park/amusement park. A world renown rehabilitation center for women recovering from too many corns on their feet, or - something like that. Something that establishes the city as "the very best" in this particular area.
There's so many other things to consider too: location will largely dictate industry and types of jobs, etc, etc, etc. It goes on and on and on. A Ti dream, really. So much to analyze and map out. It has to come together spacially as well, on paper.
1. Function (easy to get around, things "make sense" to the newcomer and to the residents, people have everything they need, including peace, stability, safety, infrastructure, etc.)
2. Aesthetics (looks fresh and appealing - a place you'd want to come back to or even stay)
3. Everything else will fall into place once those things are established