Why Willow should be a town.

In this article I want to explain why I believe Willow should be a town, and disprove some arguments against this.

Inactivity

The first and most common argument you will hear against Willow's townhood is inactivity.

Go on BlueMap, you will at many times notice a handful of players active in Willow. This may not seem like a lot when compared to other areas, such as Aventura and Oakridge, but it is important to note that virtually every plot in Willow is currently rented or purchased. Furthermore, this is about as much activity as Oakridge and Aventura used to get before the Jaron wave. And this is after the Jaron wave has largely died down.

Willow, being a farming district, is filled with farms. People who own these farms are encouraged to stay online for longer, and are thus more active when compared to someplace like Oakridge.

Going back to the mention of every plot in Willow being bought out, does this not prove activity? Surely, if people were not invested or interested in Willow, there would not be such a high demand for farms.

If more farm and ranch plots were introduced to Willow, we would notice an immediate increase in both activity and active players. Furthermore, this would introduce more new players to Willow, creating new faces that need representation.

Another thing; the Republic of Willow, a recent independence movement, was able to fill out an entire government. Consisting of a 5 member parliament, alongside a president and vice president. This clearly proves that giving Willow a town government can 100% work, and with a large party like The Evergreens, which focuses on Willow, I do not believe there is a shortage of players that would be interested in running for a Willow town government.

Commercialization and development

Many have claimed that making Willow a town = erasing Willow as a farming district, and forcing it to commercialize and industrialize. This is just not true.

Willow can stay a farming based area while also being a town. Nothing about being a town forces Willow to begin setting up C-plots everywhere and encourage businesses to move in. All it would mean is that Willow residents are given both proper local autonomy, and a government.

It could easily be enshrined in a town constitution, enforced via staff vetoes, or enforced via federal regulation, that Willow must not make itself too industrialized or commercialized. Furthermore, I do not believe it would be in the interest of any new town government in Willow to erase its farming nature.

This is what makes Willow unique, and I do not believe anybody fighting for Willow's townhood also unironically believes that Willow should become the next Aventura or Oakridge, since it should not.

This is not a matter of just making more plots, or making Willow some big urban area, it's a matter of giving the residents of Willow representation and a local government.

Why townhood is a good idea

As mentioned earlier in this article, there is a shortage of plots in Willow. It would be far easier to create and split off new plots if there were a local government with authority over Willow. It would be easier in general to manage local issues and needs, as opposed to having it directly ruled by a government department, which may be slower to respond to concerns within Willow.

A new town government in Willow would also bring new opportunities to new players, especially with Willow now being dominated by new farmers. New politicians could get their first political positions in Willow if it were a town, allowing them to get a better grasp of Redmont's politics and handling political positions. This would also give them the experience needed to move on to political positions in Redmont.

This has also just generally been something that the community has wanted, and many have been fighting to get done for a while.

Also, is it not just more fair to give Willow residents a way to get represented?

People in Reveille are already represented by Redmont's house and senate, since they're the capitol. Aventura and Oakridge are both represented through their town governments.

Willow is lived in by a sizable population, and yet they don't get any proper representation. You cannot claim that Redmont's house and senate already represents them, since they are too distinct and different from Reveille, and are a separate district. Furthermore, a majority of representatives and senators do not have a vested interest in Willow, and have far more interests in overseeing Reveille.

As such, the only wait to fairly represent Willow, and to allow the district to be better managed and overseen, it must become a town.

I hope you agree.

Feel free to comment and give feedback, I'm always willing to listen and change my opinions!