Media:

See the online version of our submission at
http://www.Neualtenburg.org/community/sop2005/, which includes
a three-minute movie with highlights from Neualtenburg.

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Description:

We submit for consideration in the MMORPG Public Space Design
Competition the city of Neualtenburg in the virtual world of
Second Life. Neualtenburg is a one-of-a-kind self-governed
community, whose purpose is to:
- enable group ownership of high-quality public and private land;
- create a themed yet expressive community of one-of-kind builds; and
- implement democratic forms of self government within Second Life.

As a city in Second Life, we have assembled a community of
artistic, ambitious, talented individuals who explore the limits
of architecture, culture, law, and politics in Second Life.
Our community is focused around the following elements:

Architecture
The city is modeled after a medieval Bavarian city with
postmodern architectural elements in the private simulator
(sim) of Neualtenburg. Most of SL is based upon the precepts
of modern architecture, where land and buildings are dominated
by the rectangle. One of the goals of this project is to create
a city which replaces orthogonality with organic and brings
together the medieval and modern. View the city layout
here: http://www.Neualtenburg.org/services/land/ and see photographs
here: http://www.Neualtenburg.org/community/photos/.

Culture
The city is a nexus for progressive social experimentation in
Second Life including modern art (sculpture, scripting, movie
making, role playing), political organizations (a Representative
Assembly, Factions, constitution, and bill of rights), and
education (classes and meetings held for all Second Life
residents). Learn more about on Neualtenburg's community
here: http://www.Neualtenburg.org/community/.

Politics
The city is based on a democratic republic with city planning
and group sales used to support landmarks, art, and expansion.
Our virtual city is very different from other themed builds
and groups in Second Life, as it is owned collectively and
governed democratically. Read up on Neualtenburg's government
here: http://www.Neualtenburg.org/government/.


The goal has been to create an infrastructure that supports a
self-sustaining community that goes beyond the anarchy typically
seen in on-line virtual worlds. A community which actively
develops, refines, and lives through its architecure, politics,
law, education, and culture.


As an addendum provided below is a list of notable firsts achieved
by the city Neualtenburg within the virutal world of Second Life.

- Neualtenburg is Second Life's first democratic republic.
Last month the city's third Representative Assembly (RA) was
chosen in elections.
- Neualtenburg is Second Life's first nonprofit land cooperative.
By forming a real-world cooperative, several small buyers have been
able to band together, purchase, and share a dedicated simulator.
- Neualtenburg has offered the first well-defined investment bonds
(true debentures) to raise enough money to purchase the sim.
These bonds provide well defined nominals, par values, and coupons,
in order to provide a safe and secure investment for both the
investor and the city.
- Neualtenburg has Second Life's first and only constitution.
We have multiple branches of government allowing individuals with
different skills to approach problems from different directions.
- Neualtenburg has Second Lifes's first well-defined and binding
land deed and covenant system.
- Neualtenburg has Second Life's first true virtual-world legal
system with laws that are enforced using the potential of land
confiscation (forfeiture of cooperative investment).
- Neualtenburg's community has the largest group forum in Second
Life with over 250 threads and 3250 posts, more than eight times
the size of the next-biggest group forum.


This proposal can be viewed in its entirety at
http://www.Neualtenburg.org/community/sop2005/. We also invite
the judges to visit http://www.Neualtenburg.org for additional
information on the city. One can find a complete city prospectus
(overview, philosophy, citizenship, covenant, and government);
list of services (land availability, finance, vendor system,
voting system); community resources (list of citizens, photographs,
forum information); and government resources (members of the
government, constitution, covenants, deeds, and terms of service).