A futuristic city could become home to millions of people in the middle of the United States desert.
Entrepreneur Marc Lore has unveiled plans for a new city that would include 15-minute commutes, and farms built on skyscrapers.
He hopes the city would rival other « floating » cities such as Oceanix Busan in South Korea or elongated cities like The Line in Saudi Arabia.
Known as Telosa City, it would cost around £320 billion ($400bn) to build.
The name comes from the Greek word used by Aristotle and means « highest goal ».
It also acknowledge’s Lore’s desire to make Telosa the « most open, fair and inclusive city in the world ».
The billionaire has said he wants Telosa to be as eco-friendly as a Scandanavian city but with the freeness of somewhere in the USA.
It would be built in the middle of the desert between Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
It would boast a water treatment plant under strict instructions not to use the source too much and would mostly run on renewable energy.
Lore also dreams of making Telosa a 15-minute city, meaning everything residents could want in their lives are available within a short distance.
Cars using fossil fuels would be banned, instead replaced by public transport, bicycles and autonomous vehicles.
Telosa claims it would have an « equity » skyscraper as its landmark. This would offer aeroponic farms, photovoltaic panels and water storage.
Lore believes 50,000 people could be living in the 120,000-hectare city by 2030. That figure would reach five million by 2050.
The developer hopes the popular would be « diverse », similar to what he says the biodiversity of the city would be.
Its website says the developers want Telosa to be « open », « fair », and « inclusive ». Equality is also set to be a key notion in the city.
Lore wants residents to « directly influence » political decisions, with private owners outlawed and money pumped into social services.
Critics however say the city is a « vanity project », reports The Sun. They say existing cities could be improved with such a large budget.
They also say recent studies found other futuristic cities are failing, with few people actually wanting to live in a planned, man-made city.
However, a 130,000-person settlement has just been announced in Saudi Arabia. The ROSHN group hopes Marafy would be a « gamechanger » in the industry and could open by 2030.
Elsewhere Neom, a futurist megacity, also in Saudi Arabia, has announced its latest development.
Directors of the £799 billion project say they are planning to build a hotel complex in the carved walls of a giant canyon.
It is part of the country’s attempt to end its dependency on oil wealth.
The city – which will reportedly feature an artificial moon, flying taxis, and robot security – is set to occupy a 170km stretch of desert known as « The Line », meaning it will only be 200m wide.
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