The city of Irnsquare is an American city in the Northeast. Its exact location isn't important, so we're making it up; just assume its in its own state and is happily situated there.

It is a four-season climate. The summers are hot, getting up as high as ninety-five to a hundred, never blistering. The springs are warm and rainy and sunny. The fall is chilly, windy, the leaves turning an array of vibrant colors. The winter can get blisteringly cold, snowy and frosty.

The area is green and settled against a huge, winding river. The river is mildly polluted, as all rivers in moderately urban areas are, but there are parts of it that are safe for swimming.

The city itself is huge, sprawling, and rather old, settled on a basic grid pattern that is broken here and there by a stray road. It is lined on all sides by the Iron River, which splits at its north point and re-merges at its south to turn the city into an island.

There are four quadrants to the city, each one having a specific character. In the very center of Irnsquare is a huge, roughly-square park. There is a complicated, well-organized subway system that operates mostly underground. Streets go east-west, and are numbered from south to north; avenues go north-south, and are numbered from west to east.

The Northwest - the Northwest quadrant is primarily industrial, processing plants and factories and warehouses. This is where Doors Nightclub is located. It is not a nice area, and it is not necessarily a safe area. The streets and avenues here are almost all numbered.

The Northeast - the Northeast is primarily housing and commercial, relatively cheap. Mostly apartment buildings, housing complexes, cookie cutters, and projects. The streets and avenues here are almost all numbered.

The Southwest - the Southwest is considered the 'art' and 'student' district. This is where Irnsquare University is located, a large, private school that all but disappears into the city. There are also excellent, cheap restaurants, clothing stores, cafes, and decently-priced apartments. The southmost tip is considered 'up and coming' and the prices there are starting to rise. The northmost tip borders the industrial area, and is borderline slummy, cheap. The streets and avenues here are almost all numbered, except to the south, where they are named after trees.

The Southeast - the Southeast holds some of the best shopping districts and restaurants in the city, and in the southmost areas it also holds fancy apartment buildings, private homes, brownstones. It is very expensive, especially to the south. Most of the streets and avenues here are numbered, except in the south, where they are named after trees.

A note about the south tip of the city: This is the oldest part of the city and, as such, the streets here are all named after trees, and cut jaggedly/willy-nilly, falling out of the grid. Most of the homes and buildings are a couple centuries old, beautiful stone buildings, wrought-iron. This area is considered the 'historical' district, and all new buildings and renovations must be approve, in order to preserve its character.

The Park - the park cuts a hole in the center of the city. It runs from 46th street in the south to 97th street in the north, 4th avenue on the west to 9th avenue on the east. It is massive. There are paths. It's easy to get lost, or cause trouble. There is a small lake in the southeast segment.

The Suburbs - Across the river to the southeast sit the suburbs. These are standard suburbs, and homes there range from borderline-slummy to apartment buildings to condos to planned communities to mansions.