In most regions, human populations are centred in the village, town, or city, although notable exceptions apply. Nomadism is a strong component of the more traditional Kimmerians and likewise the Kimmeri-Kelts. When Esquimaux society was more prevalent, its constituents embraced a lifestyle of semi-permanent habitation based on seasons and the tendencies of prey. Now, as the Esquimaux have been reduced to smaller numbers, they largely embrace a sedentary lifestyle. Hence, it can be assumed that, with few exceptions, the settlement is the standard model for communal survival.
Sages acknowledge that the surveys of the ancients do not accord with present-day examinations; indeed, pre– Green Death surveys would not qualify a settlement of fewer than 10,000 individuals as a city.
¬ Village: 100–500 persons
¬ Town: 500–2,000 persons
¬ City: 2,000+ persons
Most villages and towns are located on seashores, waterways, or roads. As Hyperborea suffers rapid decay, many old roads have fallen to disuse, causing some towns and villages to lose regular contact with the larger centres of population; in sooth, they must become self-reliant, or they too will pass. Many towns and villages are walled, for Hyperborea is rife with predatory beasts and monsters. Rare is the non-walled community that survives; of course, small island villages are notable exceptions.
Cities are where the bulk of humanity takes shelter from the horrors without. Since the nigh extinction of humanity by the Green Death, far fewer cities remain than once did, and of course the political and racial landscapes also have changed. Many presentday cities are not occupied fully, as humanity has failed to recuperate properly from the great plague. Most cities are heavily fortified and on the whole dominated by a single race; exceptions to this norm include the City-State of Khromarium and Port Zangerios, where racial admixtures prevail. Furthermore, two cities are occupied by malign humanoids: Ape-men rule the ancient Hyperborean City-State of Kor, and orcs, an abominable race of dæmon-blooded Picts, rule Orcust. Of course some cities no longer are accounted for, completely devastated by the plague and thus fallen to ruin.
Fortified manors, fortresses, and castles protect the nobles and sovereigns from hostile incursions. In some cases an entire settlement is a fortification intended to protect the lord and his populace from not just enemies, but the horrors without. When independent lords construct fortresses in the hoary wilderness, each generally is regarded as his own village or town, depending on the population supported; oft these strongholds remain unmarked on maps.
As previously noted, most Hyperborean roads have fallen to disuse, scarcely utilized since the Green Death. Land communications are not as they were, but the means remain much the same: Horses and camels are the primary means of conveyance, though dog sleds, leaper camels, thew waggons, and woolly mammoths are noted alternatives. Messenger Ravens, Owls and other domesticated/trained avians are use in some areas. In recent years the enthralment of the bird-men has effected aerial communications; too, rumours persist of sky boats streaking through the air from time to time. Still, the major mode of travel and communication remains nautical, with vessels of all sizes and makes plying the seas and waterways of Hyperborea.