The Commerce District

So, for fun, I thought I would continue my series on what I see my town to be like. Today we will look at the Commerce District.

Yesterday’s blog was about The Urban Nomad’s Park, so if you missed it, feel free to go back and read it.

I see the Commerce District to be 1/8 mile b y 1/8 mile, or 10 Acres in a square. It is the second district to be built because if you have people somewhere, you need jobs.

To have jobs, you need an economy. To have an economy, you need businesses. To have businesses, you need a place for businesses to grow and thrive. 

Thus the need for the Commerce District.

I see it being built in a small town style, with mostly brick and stone three or four story buildings.

The streets will be typical two lane streets (one lane in each direction) and one parking lane on each curb side. 

Back alleys are needed for deliveries, so as to keep the heavy trucks off of the streets as much as possible.

I still want to have all of the utilities placed underground and out of sight in some sort of utility corridor network. 

I don’t want to see power lines, phone lines, crisscrossing the streets. It looks ugly and gets in the way, besides it is unsafe.

I also like the idea of serviceable and accessible water, gas and sewer pipes, pipes that are not buried, and so subject to the moving and shifting of the earth.

I digress, I see the buildings being commercial space on the first floor (or more if desired). Office space could be on the second or third floor. 

A few apartments could be on the top floor. While there will be a residential district (that I’ll get to in another blog) These would be for the workaholics or “passionately employed.”

As to what businesses will be there, I don’t know, as it will be whatever businesses that desire to open and can afford to stay open.

So as to help business flourish, I see all of the buildings in the Commercial District being owned by the Commerce District itself (a governing body thereof).

This is not to bleed money out of business so as to keep them almost broke yet not quite, but rather the opposite.

I see the Commerce District bundling together as much expenses as can be bundled together and simply charging a certain percentage of the business’s gross income.

That way, the better the business does, the better the Commerce District does. Who runs the Commerce District? 

Why elected representatives of the businesses located there, of course. 

I would like to see a balance of one half of the governing body being made up of elected representatives of business owners and managers, and the other half elected to represent the employees of those same businesses.

I would like to see a large car park building near the entrance of the Commerce District which is disguised as a regular building (for esthetics).

This would encourage more foot traffic, rather that vehicle traffic throughout the Commerce District.

There is more, but you get the picture. I will continue this series on the various sections I want to see in my town. Monday it’s the Arts and Culture District!

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!