My overall campaign theme is ‘Building Bridges’ and this is particularly important - both literally and metaphorically - when we come to the Locus Amoenus Rebuild.
I see this as a top priority for an incoming Chancellor - we need to complete the rebuild and do so in a way which is genuinely inclusive and collaborative. I believe that we can complete the rebuild with much less anxiety and unhappiness if we are clear about what needs to be done, clear about who is doing the work and clear about when it will be completed.
First, let’s tackle some key questions people have about completing this project:
Key Questions
Are you going to move anybody?
No.Will your plan be different from the plan the previous Chancellor was working to?
I want to look at the plan again, take input from people who have thought about LA carefully and, if necessary make some small changes. But I think we have to accept that the LA rebuild will largely implement the plan already agreed by the RA. I am not going to start with a blank sheet of paper, what’s done is done.Will anyone have to change their parcel lines?
It won’t be necessary. Any changes to parcel lines, if needed, can be made on land which is not currently owned by someone. If I do need to ask someone to change a parcel line this will be entirely voluntary and I won’t ask people to relocate any buildings.
No one will need to move and no one will need to move their home due to an agreed parcel line change or terraforming.
Here is how I would complete the project if elected as Chancellor:
First of all, we need a plan!
In RL I often work on complex projects and programmes. These all have clear plans which set out what we need to do, who is going to do the work and when we are going to do it by. We need to be comprehensive and make sure we are addressing all of the remaining issues and things to do on the build.
For example:
Our Covenants for LA are 90% of the way there. They are pretty comprehensive but have one or two gaps. For example, have we sufficiently defined what ’Tuscan’ means? It seems very broad at the moment, are we happy with the builds that will result? The Covenant for the Fishing Village and Houseboat ‘liveaboards’ say that there will be pre-approved prefabs but we have not set these out for the houseboats and, as a consequence we have a mix of styles. Do we want to be more specific? And do we ‘grandfather’ the builds which are already in place?
The Fishing Village is a work in progress. We need to complete this and be happy that, as with Neufreistadt, we have range of prefabs which people will want to live in and which are visually coherent when put together.
We need to decide what to do about the “Umbilicus Mundus” - the foundation of LA. Do we delete it? Relocate it? Keep some of it and not other parts? None of this has been decided yet and, given its central location and its importance to the history of the sim , it is vital we settle this quickly.
Second, the RA needs to be bought in to a revised plan
I respect the fact that many people have worked on the LA Rebuild Project for some time now (almost two years since ideas were first mooted). The RA has approved a plan but, as I’ve shown above, there are a few small gaps that need to filled. If elected, I will work with the RA to get their approval for the minor changes that need to be made, and a detailed plan which sets out everything we need to do to finish the job.
Third, we need the Guild back on side.
The Artisan’s Guild includes some of our best and brightest builders - people who are not only proficient in what they do in the CDS but who have a reputation far wider than our own small corner of the grid. We need to have them on board so that our reputation for the quality of our built environment is maintained. I also want to maintain the enthusiasm of the people who are already working on LA - I don’t believe in ‘closed shops’ or that the Guild has monopoly rights to work on CDS projects.
Finally, we should celebrate!
Locus Amoenus has the potential to be a major asset and we are very close to achieving that. We should celebrate with a reopening of the sim which acknowledges its past and looks forward to a successful future.
I plan to post more on my plans for our 10th Birthday Celebrations in a future forum post later this week.