[quote=@Lovejoy]
[@shylarah]That could work, although it sounds incredibly grim and I'm not sure how the population could stomach it. I did have this idea about the remains of poor dead people being used in the smelting process for building material, so that in a way, Magnagrad is "built on the backs of the dead", or something like that. Building material isn't composed entirely of dead folks of course, but it does contain traces of them (sort of like how the Hoover Dam has dead workers in its foundations). Maybe the Church preaches that it's a worthy service to give your body over to be used to "further the city's spread" or something.
[/quote]

I imagine your family could be compensated in a moderate way if your corpse is given over to the city. Most of the poor end up taking it, since the tiny windfall can buy them survival for a bit more time.