This is a rural town, built on the ruins of an ancient one. It is fairly well kept-up looking and there's signs of new construction. Radiance Magic College is not in its original building, but moved to what used to be city hall preCatastrophe, a nicer building, after it was abandoned. When the city started to be more widely inhabited rather than just being the magic college, a new town hall was built, considerably less grand than the old one.
There are a few houses in town; Emerald's family have a townhouse here, and a country home. Sapphire Hues is probably in the townhouse. Townhouse staff: Butler/majordomo, maid, cook, housekeeper.
Country house staff: The same, 2 maids, plus farmworkers.
The Pin family has a townhouse as well. Matriarch is Prim Pin, the mayor. Her son, Sharp Pin, is about Emerald's age, and Prim Pin would like to fix him up with Emerald. Sharp Pin is gay, and isn't really attracted to Emerald anyway, but as he is not the romantically settling-down type anyway that he would want to marry somepony else, he wouldn't mind a politically expedient lavender marriage.
The dean of the magic college is Rose Glimmer, who was not the dean when Emerald was a student. People probably politely call Emerald dame Hues, anyway.