A BILLIONAIRE is attempting to make a new $400 billion city in the US, making space for five million residents in a desert.
The city, named Telosa, was thought up by former US Walmart e-commerce CEO Marc Lore.
Telosa hopes to bring futuristic urban planning to America by providing sustainable options to its residents.
It would offer a community endowment to those who lived there, leading to higher land value and better funding for the city.
A potential concept suggests that if the community were to sell the land and establish a fund similar to those of universities or hospitals, it could potentially generate an income of $50 billion annually, according to the website.
“$50 billion that would go back to the citizens in the form of healthcare, education, jobs training, affordable housing, and more.”
The goal is 100 percent renewable energy in the new city, alongside zero waste.
Envisioned as more serene than New York City yet far more futuristic than Los Angeles, the conceptual illustrations highlight flying vehicles, autonomous cars, and ample green spaces.
Uniquely-shaped buildings cover the skyline as a large transportation gateway sits in the center of Telosa.
Some of the states being considered for the city include Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Texas, and the Appalachian region.
The city will be under a new economy structure dubbed as equitism, or “[a]n economic system in which citizens have a stake in the city’s land.”
Notable equitism features include a target of 20 percent local food production, a 90 percent reduction in water usage, zero emissions from local transportation, and allotting 500 square feet of open space per person.
“It retains the same system of Capitalism but with an additional funding mechanism for enhanced services — through the land.”
According to the website, Equitism aims to deliver enhanced social services to its residents without imposing additional tax burdens.
Lore, who also co-owns the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA Minnesota Lynx, currently serves as the founder and CEO of Wonder.
“The mission of Telosa is to create a more equitable and sustainable future,” Lore said of the project.
Telosa’s partners
Building a city doesn’t happen with just one person. Telosa’s partners include:
BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group: A group of architects based out of Copenhagen, New York, London, Barcelona, and Shenzhen
Polco: A community engagement analytics company
RCLCO: A real estate planning organization
Buro Happold: An engineer, designer, and consultant group
Archer: An air mobility company
Henry George School of Social Science: An association focused on “economic justice, urban decay, environmental policy as well as tax policy.”
Source: Telosa
“That’s our North Star, and that’ll never change.”
The project has been imagined with Lore by architecture company BIG, or Bjarke Ingels Group.
The plan promises improved social services in areas like education and housing, supports a participatory form of governance, and offers a design that curtails noise and pollution, complemented by an efficient transport network.
“[I]t’s not only about creating the city of Telosa itself, which we hope will set a new standard for urban living,” the website says.
“It’s also about building a city with a soul, a city focused on actual human beings.”
