Bureau of Residences & Factories

The Bureau of Residences & Factories is a bureau of the Parliament of Milk and Honey that manages the integration of workplaces and residential communities in ways that enhance rather than diminish quality of life. In this sense, it is closely associated wit but distinct from the Bureau of Housing, which is primarily concerned with housing development and construction. Instead, the Bureau of Residences & Factories draws from Vekllei’s philosophical commitment that work and life should complement each other, and so coordinates the physical placement and social integration of workplaces within residential areas.

This practice of integration emerged from Vekllei’s island geography, where space constraints make traditional industrial zoning impractical on many smaller republics. Rather than segregating industrial and residential areas, the bureau develops models where small-scale manufacturing facilities become part of neighbourhood life - textile workshops next to housing clusters, food processing facilities integrated with community kitchens, and manufacturing cooperatives embedded within residential districts. It requires special methods of planning to allow production and industrial logistics to cohabitate with neighbourhoods and commuters.