Artificial Island

I recently visited Man-O-War Cay, a small island in the Bahamas, and was fascinated by the idea of living in an isolated small town. Man-O-War Cay has a few hundred inhabinants, almost no cars, and is separated from the "big city" of Marsh Harbor (20,000 population) by a 30-minute ferry ride.

Everyone is friendly. Everyone walks everywhere. Everyone knows everyone else. Crime is non-existant. Utopia!

..So I asked myself "How do you recreate a place like this where real people with real jobs can live?" The key to its appeal seemed to lie in the fact that it was an island of very limited size. It is difficult to create an island in the literal sense, but you could put up artificial barriers.

I would propose building a subdivision of small houses with a wall or a moat around it and only one way in and one way out. Entrance could only be made on foot or bicycle, and only small items could be carried. A fee of $10 each way would be charged to enter or exit, and entrance would only be open for 10 minutes at the top of every hour. Proceeds would go into a fund that would offset the cost of public services. Separate fees would be charged to bring in large items. No fees would be charged to bring in goods at the wholesale level. Small food stores and cafes would be located throughout the settlement, and there would be a small downtown buisiness district for less frequently needed goods and services. There would be many small parks. Roads would be lightly paved and only about 8 feet wide. Most importantly, there would be no cars.