How to efficiently protect a city from constant snowstorms?

Sort of an extension of

With minimal terraforming, what features/structures would need to be built to protect a 25mi radius city from wind?

but with some more items to consider.

For whatever reason, a small city pops up in a cold region with constant snowstorms. The climate and terrain are similar to that of the Antarctic, only with more severe weather. It snows at least every other day, and wind is high. Naturally, people who reside in the city want to protect themselves from the severe weather, and want to be able to live a relatively comfortable life inside this city. They:

• Possess post-modern technology (things that are feasible by 2050)
• Have access to enough resources and manpower to complete this project, whatever it is
• Have access to reliable electricity
• Have built their city on ice covered but solid ground
• are numbered at 100,000
• have built this city in a 25 km sq area, in a relatively flat area.

They want to build something, or set up a series of systems or infrastructures to make the following possible:

• Temperatures inside the city is higher than outside (the higher the better)
• roads can be easily kept clear of excess snow
• wind is minimized inside the city
• pedestrians and motorists should be able to get around with regular winter gear (heavy coats, ATV's, snowmobiles), not specialized gear like the type that would be used in arctic expeditions.

Assuming they don't have to worry about food, water, or other things that an Antarctic settlement might need, how can they accomplish this goal efficiently? The criteria for efficiency are as follows (in order of importance):

1. Energy cost is kept to a minimum
2. Maintenance/manpower required to maintain is kept low
3. It would be good if less resources are spent to complete the project

posted over 7 years ago

Jim Wu‭

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