Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris is also an elder and an early supporter of VillageTowns! From the Village Forum:
Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris – A renown evolution biologist, Dr. Sahtouris is an early supporter of VillageTowns who articulated and provided the concept of biological systems that enabled the VillageTown concept to make an intellectual jump from the conventional development framework to one in which complex systems are allowed to work naturally by how authority is distributed so that people & communities can work out their own present & future.
Small plazas is one of six key design elements of a Village Town