There are five main districts in New Washington.
The Commercial District is the central district, and easily the largest one in the city. This is the hub of the city's economy, and it's where the grand majority of its business takes place. Due to its proximity to the other districts, its proportionate wealth and culture are on a gradient by location. The north and south end (bordering the Mercenary District and the Border Slum, respectively) of the Commercial District are somewhat more poor and violent, with the South end being the poorer of the two. The central 'strip' of the district is the wealthiest, with the very center being the true 'hub' of New Washington, exciting and hip. The West end is calmer, being next to the Residential District, and the East end is a bit glitzier, being next to the Flavor Slice. The Commercial District borders a few sub-districts; the Theatre District on its east side and the Arcade District on its Northwest side.
The Mercenary District is easily the most violent and exciting district of New Washington; it is where the most personnel contracting takes place, and usually to martial ends. Nowhere is it more crucial to pay attention to the Arms Culture of New Washington and to be ready for outbreaks of seemingly random (but probably well-planned) violence. At the upper end of the Mercenary District is the Importer District sub-district. On the southwest side, where the Mercenary District borders Home, is the Arcade District sub-district. Inside the Mercenary District is The Arena, a particularly combat-oriented sub-district.
The Residential District, also known as Home, is arguably the safest district in New Washington, with the lowest incidence of crime in the city. Home was originally a “Sister City” to New Washington, in the days when both were little more than a pair of refugee camps. As time went by, New Washington absorbed the smaller, more peaceful town. To this day, Home remains a good deal different from the rest of the city. There are areas of Home where it is not necessary or even encouraged to carry a weapon, a drastic departure from the majority of New Washington.
The Affluent District, also known as the Flavor Slice, may not actually be the richest district in New Washington (the Commercial District's extensive economic dealings probably place it in first), but it is certainly the most ostentatious. Home to New Washington's rich and famous, the Flavor slice is home to the most futuristic and beautiful architecture in the city, as well as some of its most picturesque people. It is, of course, largely human- and elf-populated, with a smattering of Pol's Cats, faeries and dragons. The 'lesser' races are occasionally kept on as hired help.
The Border Slum is not the seamy underbelly of New Washington. The criminal syndicates and unethical corporations don't tend to touch it. Riddled with Unpoliced Zones and violent crime, the Border Slum serves as little more than padding between New Washington and The Labyrinth.
Sub-Districts:
The Arcade District is both a bastion of the most cutting-edge entertainment technology in New Washington as well as a haven for the most 'classic' methods of entertainment. While the One Must Fall Teradome in The Arena is inarguably the pinnacle of the sport's development, there are still more OMF players in the Arcade District. The Legend Quirien, presumed dead, is said to still haunt the halls of her favorite arcades.
The Theatre District is the premier performing area of New Washington, both for live theatre and for ethercasts and feature-length movies. As its focus is on performance, the Theatre District has also seen the growth and development of a number of other performance celebrities, including the inimitable Ellis Manteaux.
New Washington's Importer District is one of the most crucial arteries of New Washington's economic lifeblood. Since the area around New Washington is lacking many crucial resources, it relies on its importers to bring in needed supplies, either from other nations or from the Great Western Forest. There is a very strong “Importer Culture” in this district, complete with ranking systems, territory and communications protocols.
The Arena is the area where the inhabitants of the city who truly love combat reside. The One Must Fall Teradome is in The Arena, as well as several arenas designed for combat between powerful beings such as Shadowflames or Archmages. Due to the many venues through which official combat can take place, street battles are surprisingly rare in The Arena.
Unpoliced Zones are all over the map of New Washington and change throughout the years. Since acquiring an area for a police precinct is a largely political and occasionally military move, sometimes 'no man's land' areas develop. These areas are literally illegal to officially police, and thus become small experiments in anarchy-- areas watched by the federal government, but regulated by no one. Unpoliced Zones are called “UZs", and their residents are named similarly: “Yuzies". This term is generally used to refer to the criminal element from a UZ that leaks into the surrounding neighborhood. Many UZs are controlled by gangs, for better or for worse. Some, such as the Noise Pumps and the Ground-Level Knights, make a genuine effort to keep the peace, albeit with an iron fist. Others, like the Dragon PKers (so-called for the incident when they hunted down and murdered a dragon citizen of NW) and the Banes, make no such effort and terrorize the area while 'claiming' it.