Problem
Local government of communities and local control by the inhabitants, will only happen if each community has its own physical town hall which forms the nucleus of its political activity.
Solution
To make the political control of local functions real, establish a small town hall for each community of 7,000, and even for each neighborhood; locate it near the busiest intersection in the community. Give the building three parts: an arena for public discussion, public services around the arena, and space to rent out to ad hoc community projects.
Related Patterns
… according to Community of 7000 (12), the political and economic life of the city breaks down into small, self-governing communities. In this case, the process of local government needs a physical place of work; and the design and placing of this physical space of work can help to create and to sustain the Community of 7000 (12) by acting as its physical and social focus.
Arrange the arena so that it forms the heart of the community crossroads; and make it small, so that a crowd can easily gather there — Activity Nodes (30), Small Public Squares (61), Pedestrian Density (123). Keep all the public services around this square as small as possible — Small Services Without Red Tape (81); and provide ample space for the community projects, in a ring around the building, so that they form the outer face of the town hall — Necklace of Community Projects (45) …
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 236.