On topic, I would say that, like with most non-in-game provinces, there's really not too much lore out there. I know there have been several attempts to prove that Skyrim isn't all snow and mountains, so you might get some good stuff from those, but I'm afraid I can't find the link.
http://ladyn.tamriel-rebuilt.org/Skyrim.php
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx304/LestatDeLioncourt1872/MGEScreenshot71-2.jpg
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx304/LestatDeLioncourt1872/MGEScreenshot46.jpg
Ooh, classic American mistake there. Unless from the start on there has been some form of central planning people generally don't their houses on square grids or even right angles. You can actually see this in the cities in Oblivion, they're grown organically.
Now you can have a look at http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/ or get Google maps and look at the city centres of some ancient cities. Rome, Jerusalem, Cairo. Not Paris, it's been rebuild.
I also think the cast iron fence is kinda out of place. Not because the Nord may or may not have cast iron but because it doesn't fit with who they are. You have to start from the ground up, get some people together, brain storm about how you view the Nords. Then from that idea, that concept you start building and writing. You do this all because your ultimate aim should to tell a story, and a story is not about a collection of facts, it's a mood, it's an atmosphere, it has feeling. You have to get this across in every aspect.
Check http://www.monkeytruth.net/ for a taste of atmosphere, it's why most folks love everything that smells of metaphysics.
If you don't believe me, go watch Avatar. Dragons with USB ports, Seriously.