living
by
design.

Urban Village Community Social Experiment (UVCSE)…

Connection…

Have you ever wondered if there was a better way to live? A better way to connect with those around you? A more efficient way to achieve more of what you want out of life?

What if you were able to live in modern accommodation but also able to afford trips away at the weekend or save up for that overseas holiday you’ve always dreamed about?

What if you lived close to where you worked? So close that you didn’t need to drive to work but could walk or bike instead if you so choose?

What if you could live in a subdivision or apartment complex community where everyone in the community had the same or similar goals to you and social activities of your interest – into which you can have input – were provided within your urban village? Where there was a supermarket in walking distance from your accommodation, where child care facilities were on campus in your apartment complex and you could swim and go to the gym without leaving home?

Imagine a place to call home where your neighbours were in a very practical sense your family and support from your fellow urban village dwellers was tangible.

Imagine a place where your children could play in safety protected from the hustle and bustle of the trafficked streets outside.

Imagine a place where performances, dances and parties could be hosted and enjoyed by your community and where you would never have to leave.

Would this interest you?

“Yes, it would”, you say, “but how could this happen in reality – are we talking about government subsidies here? Where is this going?”

Imagine the future…

In the world I foresee there will be a lot of working people – whether they are singles, couples or families – who are not interested in the hassle of owning their own home in the suburbs, of keeping their manicured garden in perfect order and of commuting into the central business district every day to go to work.

They will be looking for an alternative lifestyle.

One where they can work in the CBD and then walk home to their urban village community and relax with their friends by the pool with the option of sharing dinner in the common space in the evenings.

Where they can work, eat, sleep, play and recreate – where they can live – without the incessant travel for which modern life has become synonymous.

What if – let’s say you’re a couple – you were content to perpetually rent (with just one months’ notice required) a two bedroom 100 square meter apartment in an urban village community where the rent was permanently set 20% below equivalent market rental prices?

Or if you and a couple of friends or work colleagues wanted to share a three bedroom (each with ensuite) 150 square meter apartment?

Or if you and your wife and three children wanted to live in a four bedroom (master ensuite and one other bathroom) 175 square meter apartment?

All permanently set at 20% below equivalent market rental rates.

What if a retired couple wanted to rent a two bedroom 100 square meter apartment right next to the above-mentioned family as they were grandparents to their children and as an extended family they preferred the vibrant, multicultural and age diverse ‘happening’ nature of the community to a retirement home complex?

What if you wanted both your own private space via renting a 75 square meter studio apartment but also the feeling of connection fostered by living in a large family atmosphere where you could integrate yourself as much as you desired with your community? Forging new friendships with those with common interests. Opening your horizons to new perspectives?

The possibilities truly are endless – as limitless as your imagination – because the UVCSE concept is truly created to encourage your enjoyment of life – the whole of life.

Again you ask, “How is this possible?”

What if a company existed who believed in providing this UVCSE experience and invested in buying parcels of CBD or urban or subdivision land and then building mixed level apartment style communities with sheltered central common green spaces, swimming pools, gymnasiums, concert spaces, playgrounds and reflective ‘chill out’ spaces?

What if this company (a) possessed in-house architectural, interior design and structural design resources to create and update the UVCSE design model, (b) also controlled the cost of the entire supply chain for the entire construction process – including employing dedicated construction and fit-out teams, utilizing pre-fabricated structural elements, bathroom & kitchen pods which are all manufactured by the company – and (c) employed an insightful market research and brand development team to ensure both the best locations for these communities are selected and that the UVCSE model is consistently delivered to keep the spirit of the concept pure across multiple geographical and timespan platforms?

Further to this, the company employs facilitators to look after each community – live in facilitators – whose role is to ensure the smooth running of the community and promote fun and engaging opportunities for community members on campus or even common interest trips to various venues.

These facilitators also have responsibility for ‘hiring’ (like a job interview) new residents as spaces become available.

Rather than the interview process being focused on external considerations, it will be focused on buy-in to the ethos – the belief system – of the community, i.e. to agree to live together for the common good and betterment of all the members’ lives, to treat each other as family, living together in unity.

Proximity to the prospective community members’ place of work is also a consideration in choosing which UVCSE venue is best suited for the applicant.

‘Fit’ with the vision is essential – no one can rent to sub-let, those who rent must sign-up to live – themselves – in the community.

By signing up to the UVCSE you really are signing up to a way of life. You are saying ‘yes’ to care for others as you know that this care will ultimately benefit your experience of life. We are better when we are all together, all the colours as one, all the cultural diversity celebrated – each learning from the other. We are strong when we are one.

Price is the key economic differentiator in this system. The investment of the company championing this cause will bring stylish, functional, modern apartment-style living within the reach of the everyday working citizen.

Andrew J Horton
10 July 2016

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