Should the village be our basic building block for creating great cities?

I recently had the opportunity to spend 6 glorious days in the island nation of Malta, which sits just below Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the European Union's smallest and most densely populated member state. The capital Valletta is a fortified city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site constructed by the Knights of St. John in the 16th century. This "city of palaces" spans less than one square kilometre but stands as Malta's primary commercial hub.

Spending time in a place like Valletta simply reinforces how much more we can still do, and must do, in terms of designing and delivering great places. For me Malta’s great takeaway was the importance of the Village as the primary building block of our cities and nations.

The French aviator and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, once wrote:

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

The quintessential village is a demonstration of that principal in action. Over the centuries it has evolved into the simplest and yet most powerful of forms. It contains what is essential. Places to live, learn, shop, eat, play, converse, rest and work. A town square, a fine grain of streets and laneways. Places to gather, places to worship, places to grow and heal.

Simply add them together, separated by some parkland and recreational fields; and make it easy to walk or ride or drive or tram or bus or train between them.

A collection of them maketh a town, and a few more maketh a regional city. Add a CBD, an airport, a university, some industrial parks and a put bunch of them together and you have a city. A city of villages. The best kind of city.

The problem is we are not getting the basic building block right. Each and every one of our suburbs should be a beautiful stand-alone village. A safe and vibrant place, full of history and potential. Let’s reconstruct our suburbs in the image of the village, one suburb at a time, and watch both the planet and us, its occupants, flourish and thrive like never before.

‘There are three classes of people,’ said the great Leonardo da Vinci: ‘Those who see; those who see when they are shown; and those who do not see.’ It feels like the village has shown us the way. We just need to take our cue, get out there, and put it into action. Lachlan Cameron

CEO

Village Well

PS: Need help in doing that then give us at call. Our mission is to regenerate the world one place at a time.