The mayor of a small village in Normandy is offering plots of land for just 1 euro a square meter - but only to those who promise to build a house and live there full time. In total the village has put 4 civil owned plots of between 900 to 1,000 square meters up for sale. The mayor, Patrick Madeleine, is struggling to raise money to renovate the community hall and hopes the arrival of new families will raise municipal revenue. "We're in a period where money is short, with state grants being cut back," Mr Madeleine said. "The only way to bring a bit more wealth into the community is to bring in new residents." Faced with a declining population, the village of Champ-du-Boult, in the Calvados region, has been offering cut-price plots at 12 euro a square meter since 2007, but has been unable to attract any takers. According to publications, the cost of building a modest house would be about 1,300 euros per square meter of living space. Since the lower price was announced last week, hundreds of prospective buyers, including four or five Britons, have contacted the council. It will choose successful applicants in the next three to four weeks. Champ-du-Boult, a community of only 388 people, a quarter of who is British, s conveniently situated for the Normandy coast. The nearest railway station is in Vire, about 11 kilometers away. The closest airport is at Dinard about 100 kilometers away. It is also 45 minutes' drive from Mont-Saint-Michel.

One of the world's spookiest "ghost towns" - abandoned nearly 100 years ago in the fallout of the First World War -could be reborn as a major tourist hub. To capitalize on its growing popularity among intrepid holidaymakers, Turkey's government is auctioning off a 49-year lease on the deserted village of Kayakoy (know by the Greeks as Levissi) in return for its partial restoration. Set against the Taurus Mountains, the village has hundreds of crumbling stone houses and two churches that seem to be trapped in time. Dating as far back as the 18th century, the weathered ruins are part of a protected archaeological site that has become a big draw for travelers. Turkey has announced that it will partially open the archaeological site to investors and the restoration project will include a hotel and tourist facilities that will encompass one-third of the village, the Hurriyet Daily News reported. That is, if someone submits a successful bid in the auction on 23 October. An auction held last year was unsuccessful. The project is expected to cost US$ 13 million and two companies have already expressed interest in bidding, but critics fear the town could lose its authenticity or originality, according to the newspaper. Kayakoy, a Unesco World Friendship and Peace Village, is located in the Fethiye Peninsula, not far from white sand beaches and pricey resorts on the Aegean coast. The village was abandoned when its inhabitants returned to Greece in a population exchange between the two countries in 1923 following the Greco-Turkish War.

Faced with rising sea levels, would you consider a move onto the water? Soon, a community of Londoners will have exactly that option. DRMM Architects has won the Royal Docks competition to design England's first floating village. London Mayor Boris Johnson revealed a consortium including Carillion Igloo Genesis and Buro Happold who will together transform 60 thousand square meters of water just east of the Emirates Airline. Floating villages are a new idea for the UK, but already popular in Europe, especially in Holland where designers have long considered sea levels in relation to housing and city planning. The Royal Docks scheme borrows expertise developed at the floating prefab village of Ijburg near Amsterdam. In Scotland two schemes are already planned, including a solar powered floating community for Edinburgh and a £30 million development directly adjacent to the Glasgow Science Center. The water site at the Royal Victoria Dock, just east of the Emirates Airline, will be transformed into a community with 50 custom-built homes, plus restaurants, bars and offices. There will also be a blue-water square framed by a market square, a floating cornice and an events space. Plans for additional facilities, such as a lido and ice rink, were also proposed as part of the bid. The winning scheme will be 100% floating with the walkways, residential and non-residential units anchored in place using a series of piles located within the dock and connected to the dock by bridges. Future inhabitants will be able to play a part in the design of their property. Chris Brown, director of Carillion Igloo Genesis said: "Living in a floating home you've helped to design is a dream lots of us have. By combining the floating home experience of our Dutch collaborators with our custom built business we hope to make these dreams come true in Royal Victoria Dock... East London's place on the tourist trail is growing fast. It's about to be joined by Europe's largest floating village, with floating markets, creative workspace, events and watersports." Alex de Rijke of DRMM recently presented his studies on floating villages to the Venice architecture biennale. The prefabricated floating water-homes will use the same type of concrete foundations that are already in use at the Ijburg development in Holland. The construction of the homes - including the bases - will be carried out off-site and then transported by water to site. The scheme is due to enter the formal planning process with Newham council in Spring 2015, and it is expected to address the need for affordable housing to avoid opposition from local authorities and residents.