Gotham City
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What is Gotham?
Gotham is in southern New Jersey, east of Route 9 between Ocean City and Sea Isle City. Gotham is a pretty amorphous term - not quite as confusing as New York, but it's still pretty hard to be sure what someone means when they say "Gotham". They could be referring to Gotham County; or rather, the consolidated city-county of Gotham. That includes not only Gotham City itself, but also the Greater Gotham Metropolitan Area - all the little towns and cities spread about around the place. No matter where you are in Gotham County, it's still the GCPD who pull you over for speeding, and it's the Gotham DA you need to sweet-talk to make sure it doesn't all get too public.
Another alternative is that people are referring to Gotham City. In theory, the term "Gotham City" applies to everything on the island - or rather islands - on which Gotham is built. You'd think that being surrounded by water was a pretty definite and specific geographical boundary, but apparently the US Postal Service disagrees, and in practice all of the neighborhoods and urban areas on the mainland as well - like Bristol and the Palisades, overlooking the city-proper - are lumped under the term Gotham, too.
Neighborhoods
Old Gotham
The main part of Gotham City is split across two pretty damn big islands, connected together by a ton of bridges. The northernmost of these islands is where you'll find Old Gotham. The realtors want us to call it Gotham Heights nowadays to try and push up housing prices, but anyone who has ever lived in Gotham knows the truth. Despite all of the renovation and redevelopment, everyone knows that Old Gotham is the scummier, seedier end of town: not the worst, but far from the shining glass and steel of New Gotham's skyscrapers. Hell, there's even a part of it called Crime Alley, which is where Bruce Wayne's mom and dad got shot; kinda sets the tone.
New Gotham
On the south island - separated from Old Gotham by the Sprang River - is New Gotham. Which, well, is new. And kinda shiny. Well, technically it's two islands, with Finger River slicing through the middle of them. But anyway. New Gotham is where all of the money comes in - where you'll find all the skyscrapers, swanky hotels, big corporations, and all of that kind of stuff. It's where you'll find places like Wayne Tower, the Clock Tower, the Hospital, Police Headquarters, the Courthouse, City Hall... and everything else you'd expect to find in the middle of a big metropolitan area. The place is crammed full of what I'm told are some very high-end and fashionable shops, but since I either get things tailored or send someone else to do my shopping for me - lets face it, ladies: you'd mob me if I went in there in person - I can't confirm that first hand. Also, since what's good enough for New York is good enough for us, we've got Robinson Park right in the centre of New Gotham which, well, is a big sort of central park thing, with a reservoir lake type thing.
The Palisades
Apparently, large stretches of water are no obstacle to urban sprawl. The metropolitan area of Gotham has spilled over onto the opposite bank of the river that separates Old and New Gotham from the mainland (called Gotham River - our city founders weren't all that original, it seems). The people that branched out there in ye olden times however were opportunistic little so-and-so's, and a lot of the old rich colonial types bought up a lot of the land out there, making for some pretty lucrative real estate. Specifically, the term Palisades refers to the sweet cliff action going on to the north of Old Gotham, atop which you'll find the quaint, spacious and leafy suburb of Bristol, as well as Crest Hill: where all the wealthy people like Bruce Wayne have their mansions. However, Gotham is surrounded on all sides (well, three sides, since the fourth is the Atlantic) by all manner of suburbs and coastal locations, including Archie Goodwin International Airport.
Other Islands
Gotham is built on six islands main islands, three of which are taken up by the city-proper. However there are still three more, plus a bunch of smaller ones kicking about the coast. Sandwiched between Old and New Gotham is what initially seems to be a surprisingly underused chunk of land. When you take into account the fact that this island is home to Arkham Asylum however, it starts to make sense why so few people live around there: who wants to be stuck on an island full of whackos, am I right? Some people unfortunately have to: one of the most densely populated - and sleazy - residential areas in Gotham, known locally as the Narrows, is on this island.
Off the south coast of New Gotham meanwhile are the other two main islands. To the southwest is a heavily industrialised island almost entirely owned by Wayne Industries: the heavy industry branch of Wayne Enterprises. As well as various factories for WayneCorp's electronics and aerospace divisions, it is also home to the Tricorner Yards, where Wayne Industries works naval contracts for the private sector and the military. The southeastern island meanwhile is another of Gotham's prison isles, this time home to Blackgate Penitentiary, Gotham's correctional facility for detaining criminals who aren't crazy: just a bunch of lawless, sadistic bastards.
Landmarks
- Gotham City General Hospital
- Gotham City Police Headquarters
- Gotham Clock Tower
- Gotham Museum of Antiquities
- Gotham Public Library
- The Docks (Port Adams)
- Robinson Park
- Wayne Foundation Building
- Wayne Tower
Businesses
- Gotham Gazette
- Monarch Theater
- Queen Industries
- Sherwood Florists
- S.T.A.R. Labs
- Wayne Enterprises
Other Locales
- Arkham Asylum
- Blackgate Penitentiary
- Brentwood Academy
- Slaughter Swamp
- Wayne Manor
- The Batcave
Groups
- The Police
- The Mob
