Wish I could rotate googlemaps grumblegrumblegrumble
Above is Legend of Korra’s Republic City, Below is a map of downtown New York and New Jersey. As you can see, Republic city has the iconic big ol’ island in the middle (though it’s actually a peninsula in Republic City), and the bridges… but the similarities don’t stop there! Republic City’s Air Temple Island and Aang statue are in the same place as Liberty Island and Ellis Island in NYC!
It’s pretty cool.