Problem

The local town hall will not be an honest part of the community which lives around it, unless it is itself surrounded by all kinds of small community activities and projects, generated by the people for themselves.

Solution

Allow the growth of shop-size spaces around the local town hall, and any other appropriate community building. Front these shops on a busy path, and lease them for a minimum rent to ad hoc community groups for political work, trial services, research, and advocate groups. No ideological restrictions.

Local Town Hall (44) calls for small centers of local government at the heart of every community. This pattern embellishes the local town hall and other public institutions like it — University as a Marketplace (43) and Health Center (47) — with a ground for community action.

Make each shop small, compact, and easily accessible like Individually Owned Shops (87); build small public spaces for loitering amongst them — Public Outdoor Room (69). Use them to form the building edge — Building Fronts (122), Building Edge (160), and keep them open to the street — Opening to the Street (165)


Reference for full-text of Pattern: p. 242low-confidence