Much like the random events in the Caravan, Settlement Events would be locked via Reputation.
Events Examples:
- Social Events that only someone with Amity+ rep could attend, and the player could get a contract or a sidequest from people that could reward them with valuables (Unique weapons, etc...)
- Robbery Events that one can interfere in to get some rep and maybe rewards from. And maybe siding with the robber could even net you something else?
And that's just a few from the tip of my tongue. I feel like being able to partake in random events, albeit non-combat or main story-related, would increase the QoL.