In the dusty plains of the southern New Mexico desert, the site for the first atomic bomb test and the U.S.-Mexico border, a new city is set to rise from the sand. According to CNN, the "city" was planned for 35,000 people, the city would have showcased a modern business district downtown, and a well arranged rows of terraced housing in the suburbs. It would have been supplied with pristine streets, parks, malls and a church. Unfortunately, nobody will ever call it home.
This project from CITE (Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation) is a full-scale model of an ordinary American town. However, it will be used as a petri dish to develop new technologies that will mold the future of the urban environment. This £1 billion scheme, spearheaded by telecommunications and tech firm Pegasus Global Holdings, will have a 15-square-mile area dedicated to its ambitious experiments in fields such as transport, construction, communication and security. It will also include specialized zones for developing new forms of agriculture, energy, and water rehabilitation. An underground data collection network will provide a detailed and real-time feedback.
Pegasus Managing Director Robert Brumley said, "The inspiration for this project is to have an environment where new products, services and technologies can be displayed and tested without disrupting everyday life. You can bring new things to have them stressed, break them, and find out the laws of unintended consequences. The plan is to have a place that will become like a magnet where people with ideas and technologies come, and not just test their ideas but also interact with other innovators." He added.
Without anybody present in the place, there is absolutely nothing to worry about, the possibilities are infinite. Vehicles without drivers could be used on responsive roads, monitored from a higher place by traffic drones. Homes could be made to survive natural disasters, and fitted with robotic features. Alternative power sources such as Thorium could be tested at scale.
