VillageTown vs City
“VillageTown” and “city” are both settlements intended for people to live in. They share the same division of a settlement with a residential and leisure space for the people, business areas for commerce, and an administrative entity that controls the settlement. But here is where the similarities end.
VillageTown is both a concept and an approach to building a community that is affordable, sustainable, aesthetic, and durable all at the same time. Composed of 20 villages, VillageTown is seen as a solution to the growing problem of urban settlements.
This idea, apparently, was developed by Claude Lewenz, inspired by the concept on Aristotle’s qualities of a good life founded on the idea of a sustainable market economy. Unlike conventional settlements, VillageTown has an appreciation for the population’s artistic, intellectual, and spiritual growth.
On the other hand, a city is an urban settlement which is very loosely defined. It is a category of settlements with a large population and created by virtue of special administrative, legal, or historical statutes. The history of the city as a settlement has been recorded in ancient times, and there is no person who is credited for its conception.
In terms of community, there is a stark difference between a VillageTown and a city. In a VillageTown, there is a complete community hinting at one special community. In contrast, a city can have different communities usually categorized by race or religion.
Another contrasting concept is the government or form of governance. In a VillageTown, the population governs the community without a formal representative. Essentially, it’s mainly a cooperative work in a VillageTown. Meanwhile, a city is headed by a representative elected by the people. The representative is to act for their interests. In this scenario, there is the context of politics, power, and corruption.
People who wish to live in a VillageTown are required to enroll. Villages in a VillageTown come with a specific theme. Population in a VillageTown is limited. Only 100,000 people are allowed to be in a VillageTown. Building a VillageTown is estimated to take 12 months or a year. Currently, there are three locations of VillageTowns. They are located in the north of Auckland, New Zealand; San Francisco Bay Area in America; and Sydney, Australia.
A city does not impose enrollment of new people on its area, and a city is not defined by any theme. Building a city takes a long time. Some cities were converted from a number of towns. The number of cities today is numerous. Some cities are even capital cities which identify and represent the country in the international arena. There is no limit on a city’s population, which, unfortunately, has often become the problem for city governments when it comes to illegal settlers and overpopulation.
Summary:
- VillageTown is a concept and approach to solving the current problem of urban living and settlements. It was developed by Claude Lewenz based on Aristotle’s qualities of life. On the other hand, cities are urban settlements which have no particular origin and requirements.
- A VillageTown consists of 20 villages which comprises a complete community. On the other hand, cities don’t comprise any specific number of smaller settlements and house different communities depending on its settlers’ demographic profiles.
- There is an approach to artistic, intellectual, and spiritual growth of a VillageTown’s population. In cities, there is no such approach.
- A VillageTown does not have a formal representative or a public office. On the other hand, a city does have a formal representative that holds public office for the interest of the population.
- Cities take a much longer time to build than a VillageTown.
- There is a limited number of people per VillageTown. Only 100,000 people are allowed to live in a settlement. In cities, meanwhile, there is no limit on how many people can live in the area.