The Diapers.com Guy Wants to Build a Utopian Megalopolis. The City of Telosa intends to be a brand new city, built from scratch in a yet-undetermined site of eventually 150,000 acres in the USA, probably somewhere in the southwest region. Telosa aims to be the most open, most fair, most inclusive, and most sustainable city in the world.
Brainchild of diapers.com and jet.com founder and former Walmart executive Mark Lore (pronounced LorEE), the project is being designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and his firm Bjarke Ingels Group, a.k.a BIG (who, as an aside, have a pretty interesting website design). One of the core ideas is acquire a large plot of land and then donate the plot to a community endowment, with the hopes of using the money made through the increasing land value to improve the city’s services and guarantee equitable citizen access to the necessities of quality life such as healthcare and education. Other conceptual details include minimizing environmental impact by banning fossil-fuel vehicles, wide streets with generous space set aside for pedestrian and cycle traffic, ample greenspaces to ensure sufficient groundwater permeability, and a design goal of 15-minute travel loops between home, work, school, and shopping.
City of Telosa FAQ disputes the charge of utopianism:
“[…] [W]e are absolutely not attempting to create a utopia. Utopian projects are focused on creating a perfect, idealistic state — we are not. We are firmly grounded in reality and what is possible. We are focused on the best, most sustainable solutions for infrastructure, urban design, economic vibrancy and city services, but we fully recognize that no solution is perfect and all human systems have flaws. Therefore, we are committed to new ideas, finding the best way to solve difficult problems and constant improvement.
Other News pieces:
Plans for $400-billion new city in the American desert unveiled [CNN.com]
Meet Telosa, an Entirely Sustainable City That Could Soon House Millions of People [RobbReport.com]
A Former Walmart Executive Wants to Build ‘the Most Sustainable City in the World [InterestingEngineering.com]