Plazas surrounded by primary and secondary neighbourhood streets turn a monoculture into an enriched and diverse community of many villages. Each neighbourhood village has about 500 people living in 200 homes with perhaps 25 workplaces on the plaza and another 25 on the primary pedestrian streets. The balance of the neighbourhood homes would be in quieter back streets with no commerce other than perhaps a home office with few daily visitors.
These numbers are not rigid, but they seem to be timeless, so they serve as a good starting point. These numbers presume 10,000 population. If a VillageTown is smaller, there would be fewer neighbourhood villages.
The plaza itself is the public stage for the neighbourhood. The cafés, restaurants, pups and outdoor gathering places provide for the convivial life that most people enjoy. The shops and offices provide for both commerce and a reason to venture out. Instead of building a separate school campus or three, in the village, many of the classrooms are on the plazas. Not only is this cheaper, and makes better use of resources, but it exposes students to real role models and enables working adults to keep an eye on their children. Some children may naturally move into apprenticeships, as they are known and they know the businesses.
In addition to these typical plaza activities, most plazas will have a developer funded Artist Guild Hall. Research shows that thriving communities need their Creative Class, but experience shows that when a place becomes known as creative and happening, it soon gentrifies - loved to death as wealthy buyers are attracted and eventually drive the creative class out. Decisions about what guild hall on which plaza will be part of the dynamic engagement process.
The 21st plaza is different. This is the Central Plaza and it is bigger. It houses the Village Hall where local governance occurs. It needs to be big enough that all the citizens can stand in the plaza and surrounding streets and see & hear a leader or speaker on the Village Hall balcony in an outdoor meeting or rally. In addition, the central plaza would have a non-sectarian cathedral (the term is used to define scale, not religion), a sacred building for important rites of passage - birth, marriage, death as well as religious ceremonies conducted by those sectors of the community that wish to use it. The central plaza would have a large Traveller's Inn where visitors stay, and in the dining area mingle with locals. It may have classrooms for older students - senior high school and university students. The central plaza may also provide for market days where stalls are set up.The streets around the central plaza will be more formal, and will permit higher and larger homes as well as homes that may use more land for formal gardens or enclosed activity space. The central plaza will be at the end of the Village Parade, the wide pedestrian street that begins at the Village Gate and is used for community processions.
The character of each plaza and surrounding neighbourhood is hopes to be unique, and to reflect the common character of the people who cluster together to design it. Below are a few ideas about clustering commonality:
Nationality or ethnicity – with mass migration, first generation immigrants sometime prefer to cluster. When done well, this provides a wonderful cultural experience in cities that changes block by block. With plazas, one can walk over to the Italian plaza to experience slow food, an exquisite sense of design and a relaxed lift, or stroll over to the Chinese plaza for completely different smells, sights and language. Over time, such plazas will evolve as the next generation speaks with the national accent, not the accent of their parents, but if done right, the architectural archetypes will remain. Some of these may include, Italian, French, Chinese, Greek, Indian, German, Maori, American, South or Central American, African or South African, Irish, or fill-in-the-blank. Such a plaza will make reference to the ancestral architecture, will have the smells, sounds and foods from home, and import or make things not found elsewhere. At the same time, such places will evolve in their own way, not slaves to tradition, but adapting to the new land with its own patterns. In places like New Zealand, with high immigration, such plazas become important as a way both of honouring, but also to provide an enriched day-to-day experience… walking to another land, rather than having to fly for 24 hours to get there. Expect the plazas of such places to have open market days and design the plaza accordingly.
Archetypal national – while nationality celebrates immigration, the home country sometimes forgets who it is. In Poundbury England, Prince Charles called for an archetypal English village, because he saw English vernacular was being lost to bland developments driven by pecuniary interest and exceedingly bad taste. While New Zealand is a young country, the locals will sharply inform you of the icons and character that form that which is Kiwi. Some, especially timber construction, is ruled out to avoid design by fire truck, and other aspects, like the beloved quarter-acre section don’t fit in a medium density development. But many aspects do fit, and some plazas should be designed to honour the home land. In lieu of the backyard barbie, perhaps the two storey homes can have flat roofs with outdoor living space on top – or even with an elevated footpath, connecting multiple homes in this upper floor outdoor world. In the old world, the Prince Charles Poundbury model proved to be a success. In America, architect George E. Hartman observed, “The architectural profession gave the public 50 years of modern architecture and the public’s response has been 10 years of the greatest wave of historical preservation in the history of man.” Just as immigrants will be challenged to ask what really reflects their character (not a Disney-sanitised version), those who wish to live in a plaza reflecting the national character of their home country will be challenged to articulate in concrete terms what that actually means.- Occupational
– when people cluster by a particular skill or occupation, a kind of synergy evolves. Florence has one sector for fashion and another for jewellery, for example. In New Zealand, film maker Peter Jackson created an industry using carparks, back lots and whatever was around; imagine if that was relocated to an intentionally designed plaza neighbourhood providing homes and workplaces for the extraordinary talent he attracted. Occupations simply refer to what people do to live. In most cases, plazas will be mixed occupational meaning my business will be different to yours even though we are next door to each other. But some plazas may attract a critical mass, so they become defined by a particular industry… even it is made up of many businesses owned and run by different people - Food & beverage –
Cheese-making in Europe is a wonderful tradition involving ancient knowledge, precision and care, local waters, types of cows and sheep and a great deal of love. Brewing was a wonderful art turned to swill by megabeer corporations, but then rediscovered by locals who revived the old beers and invented new ones. Slow food champions heritage foods, almost lost flavours and foods with high nutrient value, to be consumed slowly, in good company where dialogue accompanies the culinary experience. Some foods will be picked on the farms and delivered straight to each home’s food box (next to the mail box), but other foods will be made… baked, smoked, canned, cooked… remember that lobster store the size of a phone booth in Maine who steamed fresh-caught lobsters straight off the boat and wrapped in newspapers to be eaten on the rocks by the sea? Or how about that May Day in Manciano Italy when the local agricultural cooperative Caseificio Sociale Manciano, served its superb cheeses with local wine and olives outdoors at long tables at their local food festival? Food is life, and life can be lived enjoyably. A plaza dedicated to food and beverage, and perhaps to flowers as well, can be a hub of activity, delight and will be forever needed. Expect it to be near the freight depot as much of their raw materials comes from the farms. 
Fabric and fashion – while food, clothing and shelter are considered basic human needs, clothing and home fabrics become elevated to a high art. Who would have expected Antipodal New Zealand to become the talk of the fashion world in London and Milan? Distance means nothing in today’s world of telepresence. What would happen when 200 homes are sold to people whose passion in life is converting threads of wool, cotton and synthetics into fabric then dyed, woven, cut and sewn into the things that adorn people, tables, windows and even beds?- Jewellers – Making small things that people wear purely for adornment is one of the oldest of professions yet one of the most enduring. Go to an interesting place almost anywhere in the world, and you will find someone making jewellery. This may not be a plaza unto itself, but perhaps a street leading to the fabric and fashion plaza
- Film making -
Imagine a film-making plaza, clustering the many skills required to produce a film. Even the buildings could be constructed with quick-attach bolts, so the plaza façade could be remade as a film-set. To explore this one further, see the related industries of music, theatre and the hand arts. - Musical industry – Music feeds the soul, and it ranges from the most base and crude to the highest of sublime. Music is vibration and will be found on almost every plaza except those dedicated to silence.
The music industry struggles as a musician tells us he earns $1.50 for a $30 CD, the rest is taken by the industry, and out of his $1.50 he must pay for the CD, the packaging, the band and his agent. The internet is turning this industry on its head, but at the core, someone must make and record the music. It takes years to master an instrument, to develop ones own voice, and that works best in the company of master musicians. Be it opera, classical, country, rock or ethnic, to name but a few, a plaza (or plazas) devoted to the love of music enrich the community. The industrial part means a professional recording studio (think Peter Gabriel’s studio), rehearsal rooms, an outdoor stage and cafés & pubs with live music. It will have a retirement home for indigent musicians who gave their life to their passion, but made no provision for their old age. It will run festivals celebrating music and it will have a large visitor industry… both for musicians and for those who love to listen. It may have a film component… the one place where musicians can do well financially. And more… - Theatre district – Perhaps sandwiched between the music and film plazas, the theatre district celebrates the live stage… that which makes great actors. Due to the economies of scale and the reality that a 10,000 population community can only support its theatre if the cost of living is low, and the opportunity to sell local to global earns performing artists a living, the theatre district may include acting, dance, opera and performance art. Expect this district to have a higher proportion of parallel market homes.
Sculptors, painters, carvers and furniture makers – people make things with their hands, and as the world goes to mass-produced things aiming for the lowest acceptable quality, people seek out excellence that comes from years of experience. A cluster of such skill may begin by selling local to local… there will be 4,000 plus homes and workplaces to furnish and adorn, but then capitalise on that reputation to sell local to global. This plaza (or at least the one that uses machines) may be next to the industrial park, or indeed there may be a blending of the two. Expect it to be louder, expect it to have a place to get a beer to wash down the dust or a solid meal to refuel after hard physical labour.- Cultural and Intellectual – University sectors often produce a very different feel… think Oxford/Cambridge for an archetype that still survives, albeit under attack from franchises. Greenwich Village was a Bohemian cluster until it got gentrified. In these clusters, the coffee house becomes a gathering point, the independent bookstore, the printing press or whatever the 21st century equivalent will be. Key is a place to talk, and a stage to present. A
slightly seedy nature seems to be part of the territory, and individual expression becomes paramount. Some parallel market homes for eccentrics, gadflies, or the local equivalent of Christchurch’s wizard may be appropriate. A home for old jazz players, retired first-generation Greenpeace campaigners or other historical treasures may be appropriate. To make such a place exceedingly interesting, it should court both left and right wing views… perhaps two coffee houses and a full-sized chess board in the middle where the pieces get to debate issues as they are moved. 
Scholarly – Similar to the C&I cluster, but more formal and precise, scholarship retreated into the universities that now are under pressure from corporations that seek products and services certified by “impartial” academics. In a scholarly plaza, it goes back to its roots, people coming together with a love of wisdom, a passion for learning and a desire to create a community of support. Books are still fashionable in this plaza, indeed some scholars may move in with personal collections of thousands of books. This plaza may need a museum and a publishing house as well as a lecture hall. It may secure its economic viability by hosting a university 3rd-year abroad program or graduate research centre.- High-tech – technology tends to begin around universities but then emerge into industry. Silicone Valley is perhaps the best known, but due to the times, it was entirely car-based; we can do it on a human-scale and do it much better.
A PhD graduate in Nuclear Physics from MIT said to support such a cluster it must have pizza and Chinese takeaways 24 hours a day, an electronics shop also open 24/7, absurdly fast broadband, very strong coffee and very small homes but great places to collaborate. The high-tech cluster may be located near the industrial park, especially if the park attracted proto-type manufacturers, speciality machine shops and other trades that convert ideas into useful things. - Health and wellbeing – there seem to be two opposing camps in keeping people healthy or restoring them to health. Bio-technology is pressing boundaries in science, while healers seek out ancient knowledge to repair people. It would be most interesting to create a plaza neighbourhood that intentionally attracted all parties to this party, and to encourage cross-fertilisation. This plaza may also need a few investment capital businesses located nearby.
Youth Zone – Most homes in this zone would be parallel market… to buy you must be under 25 and prove you earned the money to buy legally and did not get it from parents (to assure the homes stay very affordable). Dancing in the streets, basketball, a climbing wall, and very small homes, easy to clean. Entrepreneurial workplaces, fast food as well as slow food, the youth zone would be designed by young people.
Religious – while in the west religion seems to be out of fashion, or certainly has lost the dominance it once claimed, believers often seek a cluster or community that supports their life view and experience. Some religious groups may include , Protestant Christian, Christian conservative, Catholic, Quaker, Islamic, Unitarian, Hindu, Sufi, Jewish (various), or whatever. It would be expected such a cluster would allocate a portion of the purchase price to build a house of worship, and perhaps to set neighbourhood expectations regarding ceremonial days or other aspects central to their tenets, understanding that they do so within the context of the larger village that will have different perspectives. If a religious group seeks to cluster by a plaza with the village, all they need to do is to:
• Be sure they can get along with their neighbours (intolerance will not be tolerated)
• Find about 200 home buyers who want to form such a place.- Blokes – Probably located near the industrial zone, motorpool or the sports fields, create a cluster for people who love the important things of life… rugby, rugby and the All Blacks. Expect this plaza to have hard-working people who run or work in businesses that actually do something, make something or provide something. Forget the artist guild hall, but have a good sports bar or two. Depending on the demographics this may be more than one plaza, especially if there is an industry such as aquaculture nearby.
- Architectural – the plaza neighbourhood is defined by its buildings and its open space. While the village seeks to use a single, but highly flexible bulk material (variable density concrete) to create a fireproof, fast-build, low-cost, high-quality building, the variability opens up a wealth of possibilities. Some people will be attracted to create an architectural statement, but for this to work, it needs to be a theme… otherwise it looks like a mish-mash. Even in an architectural theme, there are many different approaches. One may create a plaza neighbourhood around leading edge, the latest trends beloved by the architectural profession. As long as all agree, let it rip. One also may elect to go retro such as Art Deco, or colonial, honouring the heritage (except that wooden-retro must be recast in concrete). A formal plaza based on classical (Greek) architecture could be stunning, especially if done right. Another village-friendly style is Moorish architecture where the plaza is a bit wild and woolly, but when one enters in the homes, a magical world is presented.
- The Village Central Plaza – in the heart of the village, at the other end of the Village Parade –
the wide street that begins at the Village Gate and leads to the Village Hall, the central plaza provides standing room for 10,000 people (including some access streets) who can see a speaker standing in a balcony on the front of the Village Hall. This plaza will have the village’s only four-story buildings, and perhaps an even taller bell or clock tower where people can walk up and see the whole village and surrounding greenbelt. It will have a non-sectarian cathedral across the plaza from the Village Hall, there for sacred events run by various religious groups and for rites of passage, especially important weddings and funerals. The central plaza will have visitor facilities, Travellers Inns, meeting places and large alfresco dining. If inclement weather is an issue, it may have an arboretum – a hothouse with tropical plants that is warm and bright even on dismal, cold winter days… and places to sit, picnic or dine. It may have baths and places to swim, perhaps even an aquarium. Surrounding this plaza will be some of the grander homes, encouraging villagers who can afford it, to build larger, more elegant homes that may become a street attraction in their own right. Some may have space for formal gardens and some may become museums or institutions over time. Architectural style of the secondary streets may incorporate a formal style such as found in The Circus of Bath, England or even a façade like the Stoa of Attalos – with the design brief handed to an appropriately skilled architect or team.
