Take a housing zone.
Give them an instance with open grass
Each house has an assigned plot of land (all equal size)
Can put whatever outdoor furniture on that land.

Shared "gardening" space. Crops to grow are voted on weekly. Everything is automated (npc's plant them, etc).
People have to water/tend them every hour
The more you do it the better crops turn out
At end of the week NPCs pick the crops and sell them. Gil is split between everyone.
Possible chance of special vanity item for everyone (if the crops were well taken care of), like cactaur earring

Monthly "best garden" contest (with gil/vanity rewards)
One area wins for best crops
Everyone can vote for best garden. But cant vote for own.
So if a ward cooperates with their plots they can make a really pretty garden (rather than just a bunch of random stuff on diff plots)
Basically creates an incentive for FCs to talk to each other and get to know one another
Allow FCs to "lend" their plots of lands to other fc (incase they aren't playing much)

Benefits:
Creates community (more friends you have less likely you will quit/unsub)
Creates a "hang out" spot where you can go to socialize or wait between instances
Increases demand for outdoor furniture (which is seriously low atm)

Anyway, something like that (something that gets people talking to each other) would be a cool addition to this game.