“Peabody, here.” Everybody remember the late 1950s and early 1960s television animated series Rocky and Bullwinkle and Mister Peabody, the genius dog and “his boy” Sherman? Peabody and Sherman would travel in their WABAC (pronounced “wayback”) machine to various times in the past. Today we’re going to travel back to September/October 2011 when Alexia Carnell, owner of the Time Machine, introduced the idea of remodeling Locus Amoenus. Over the weekend Fern Leissa brought to my attention that we have a number of vacant parcels in LA and that maybe I could explore the possibility of remodeling once again.
Alexia had made contact with Lef Leven, a citizen of ours and a very accomplished Roman planner and builder. I have set up Lef’s examples at the landmark included below as well as the note card he made for the plans.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/L ... 211/92/551
One thing I don’t see though is smaller parcels; all the parcels are the same size as they are now; 512sqm and 1,024sqm. My suggestion would be to take the North parcels 4 through 12 and split them right down the middle, forming 18/256sqm parcels.
I would not have the extra waterfront Lef suggests and I would have the 9 parcels on the waterfront facing outwards and the 9 parcels adjacent to the road facing the road. I think one question would be if we split that row should we form a small alley or dirt trail in-between the 1st row and 2nd row or just have the buildings butted up against each other?
So when you get a chance read Lef’s Plan for Locus Amoenus and go visit the two displays and provide some feedback. Also keep in mind that if this is something all of us can come to an agreement on we would still have to work out the details with the few citizens who would be directly affected by this and we would also need to find people to do the actual work.
Thank you,
Trebor Warcliffe
PLAN FOR LOCUS AMOENUS
by Lef Leven, October 21, 2011
I hereby present my plan for changes in LA.
This note described the plan and is also to understand the models better.
GENERAL IDEA
The goal of my plan is to create a place where people would like to gather, shop and live, discover nice looking streets and builds, hangout, have fun, fall in love and become part of a lively city.
LAYOUT
Looking at the present LA layout I see an open place that lacks some structure. Although it's meant to have a countryside-feel, the lacking of 'streets and alleys' makes it hard for visitors to 'read' the sim: where do paths lead, what is road and what is not.....
So, as a basic improvement I suggest to make paths where paths are. They could be simple cobblestone paths in the grass.... or solid rustic streets/alleys, as long as they mark the routes and make clear where to go.
PUBLIC SPACE
I created a central square and more roads leading there. Automatic drawbridges open up the widened river for boats to enter. Trees, grasses etc, spread around the sim give the sim a certain 'look-and-feel', recognizable and making it look more coherent.
PARCELS
With 2 parcels less than now (26 and 27 will not exist anymore), and with some parcel layout changes, I think LA will look more clear. The northern road remains the same, but houses north of that are clearer organized, making it possible to make a northern shore too (lower the land to water level), so residents have water in their backyard there.
RENTAL HOUSES
South of the main road (and possibly a part south of the river) will be an area where LA can create a consistent look-and-feel by using similar looking houses that can be rented out. This can be a 'city' look-and-feel or a more rural one (hence the two versions of the model i made). The rental houses can come in various types of course, but with a similar style.
SQUARE
The central square functions as shopping area, place for events, gathering place. Flowers, monuments maybe, a central fountain... as long as the atmosphere is kept in style this can be a fun place to hangout. A row of columns and some trees make the square feel a little secluded, so people do not get lost in the vast space. 'Cosy' places could attract people: it should have fine (couple) benches, subtle hug and cuddle seats, places to 'be' and 'feel good', be romantic and enjoy the scenery with friends and loved ones.
SOUTH
South of the river and south road, the bigger residential parcels remain for owners to build their roman houses/villas.
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So far my general plans for the sim.
As creator and seller of Roman buildings I can offer to further advise on some details, but my demanding RL prevents me from making the changes themselves (build/landscape etc).
Once the sim is changed, I believe a good marketing campaign could lead to more visitors and residents. Maybe a magazine, spread around the ancient worlds can help there: gorgeous photos, some atrractive stories from residents... you get the idea 
Greetings!
Lef Leven