A Village for the Auckland Region
We seek to build a village-town within two hours of Auckland Airport. Shar Henderson of Values at Work heads up project coordination. While location is not first priority, advisors suggest the Warkworth / Matakana area looks fruitful.
A Village Organising Company requires funding first to develop the business plan, and once developed, funding to implement it. A location two hours from Auckland Airport is desirable, especially in an area of great beauty.
If land is abundant, this village-town is expected to provide for 10,000 people on about 50 hectares of land for the village (within the village walls) and a greenbelt of an additional 150 hectares surrounding the village walls. It is projected to have a 15 hectare industrial park outside the village gate. Finding a location among good agricultural land (but placing the village on marginal growing land) is desirable, so that farmers within a 15 km radius can be contracted to provide a wide range of healthy and flavourful foods year-round to the village.
The consultation process with the host community, when it is selected, seeks to achieve a welcome, rather than local opposition as sometimes happens with typical developments. To give people assurance, this is a development where there are no cars within the village walls and no one commutes from the village to work elsewhere. The roads should neither need upgrading nor should the region experience significant jumps in road traffic. The village design intends to minimise adverse effects on the environment both through the use of sustainable materials and by the greenbelt providing a buffer zone to prevent cross-boundary conflicts (as well as making it an even more delightful place to live).
A village-town provides everything its residents access day-to-day - jobs, homes, shops, schooling, recreation and social activities - everything is within a 10-minute walk or less. It will provide economic benefits to the region, as villagers are expected to bring their employment with them... about $1/3 billion a year in income that is then intended to cycle within the community. A village-town provides social and cultural enrichment, especially because a core part of the design includes artists' guild halls to assure permanent residency of the "creative class". This includes actors, musicians, painters and other artists, plus inventors, designers and other creative peoples that make communities more interesting.
Because of the need for critical mass, the project cannot be built in stages, and because people will be bringing their jobs with them, it is not dependent on people finding jobs before they move in. This means that the construction phase will be rapid and short – targeting all construction to occur in 12 months.
If you find this of interest, follow our progress, and if you wish to get in touch, do send us an email. If you wish to live in this village-town, please go to www.villageforum.com where you can enrol by filling out an on-line expression of interest.
