towns and cities international
What if?
What if towns and cities had a purpose, a focus, something to aim for?
Welcome to towns and cities international, a Charlie Alice Raya project to rethink towns and cities around the globe.
Towns & cities international (TaCI) was first created in book 2/2, travelling (part of the easy town books) and has since grown into a collection of ideas for towns with a purposed, a focus, something to aim for.
The general aim of these towns is always to create an environment which allows humans to thrive and the planet to recover. Within this general aim, there are by now over eighty ideas for towns with a purpose.
For some town ideas I have already published some details, more will follow.
towns and cities international
NEWS
CAMPAIGNS FOR OUR FUTURE feature in the easy town story: book 4, building, part 1.
Since this part of the story is full of campaign ideas for our future, I decided to publish an early version online and for free on the easy town books website.
Easy Town is at the centre of the story and in book 4, part 1, the team have to convince the British government to let them build the town there. Since the British government is not interested, the town project team launch massive campaigns and some of them feature additional town ideas.
By now, most chapters are available online. What’s still work in progress is the FINALE, the final eight days with a refocused campaign that goes deep to the roots of our messes, takes off the kits gloves and bluntly exposes the failures of our economic and political systems before it swerves back to where it is at home: creating visions for our future.
Towns with a purpose feature on several days and in particular on DAY 5 of the FINALE which puts a spotlight on economics & business with two open air game installations: RISE & FALL and ALIVE, one is a brutal if simplified mirror of our present economic system, the other is a bold idea for an approach to economics which sees people and planet thrive.
How town ideas and business ideas are intertwined and why this makes sense will be part of DAY 5’s story.
There are several ways to stay tuned:
- connect to me on Bluesky to be in the loop once I return online
- subscribe to my SUBSTACK IT’S OUR WORLD where I’ll post a lot as part of the final chapters’ two-months online campaign, including bits on towns & cities
- check my overview website where I occasionally post updates: https://charlie-alice-raya.org/
Some of my favourite
TOWN IDEAS
- Easy Town (the town in the easy town books)
- dot.city (in connection with the dot.business model)
- Sound City (also a town with a role in the books)
- Silent Town
- Coexhill (coexisting with nature)
- Storyland
- Toyston
- The simple life
- Hapamahachi (Happy parents make for happy children)
- Oakgrove (A proposal for refugees)
Mudiwa smiled. ‘Some of our viewers ask: What’s so special about Easy Town?’
‘Uh, a big one,’ Jason said. ‘There are several central points where our town deviates from other towns. Our town has a purpose, a focus, something to aim for. Our town will be built for the towners, for their communal life. Our town attempts to restore nature and find a way to coexist with it. In our town health plays a central role. Our town leaves nothing to chance. Instead we compose our town thoughtfully. Our town will interweave everything it has to offer: a welcoming town layout, great architecture, amazing gardens, incredible clinics, inspiring arts, ingenious crafts, progressive businesses, inspiring education, uplifting parties and more.’
book 3/1, shaping, Charlie Alice Raya
book 3, shaping, is a good entry point to explore ideas for how to create towns & cities which are alive and thrive. Find out more on the books website easy town books >
By now, whenever I come across an issue that needs addressing, I create a town which is specifically built to offer solutions and ongoing research, a town which deals with the issue and allows its people to heal and thrive.
notes for towns and cities international, 2025
About the author
I wish I had know thirty years ago, how much I love to compose towns, communities, cities.
I’m not saying, I couldn’t still go back to university, it’s just that with the easy town books, where I create an exciting town experiment, I’ll be busy with imaginary towns for quite a few years to come. And I love every bit of this explorative, creative work which gives me hope that if we go to the roots of what makes our towns and cities sick, learn from it and then set ourselves to mindfully compose towns in which our species finds an environment fitting for its many needs, if we take the time for this, then we can reshape much of the mess we created.
While my writing keeps me busy, I’d be more than happy to be available for mayors, town planners, architects, environmentalists and anyone who works on creating visions for a future for our people and our planet.
What do I have to offer? A mind that has yet to find its match when it comes to imagination and ideas of how to get to the roots of problems, and ideas of how to get out of a mess. I invite you to test me.
A good place to get an overview of all the things I’m up to is my overview website: www.charlie-alice-raya.org. Presently, it still has some gaps, but it will steadily fill up over the next months.
You can also find more content on Bluesky:
Contact
Whether you have a suggestions, question or a comment, please, get in touch.
You can use this form or write directly to contact@towns-and-cities-international.org
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