Bill Gates' "City of Tomorrow" in AZ Desert

Very neat and cool article!!!!

Long before this thread and article, I use to sit back and think about a new city. It was my personal city.

It would be vast and new concepts needed, so naturally, I would build out in the desert.

So, my setting is a vast, flat open desert, primed and ready for construction.

This would be the epicenter of a vast new smart city. Utilizing vast solar arrays of the latest built, vast wind farms and maybe a nuclear reactor for any additional power.

My city would be angled and flat, various hues of black and white. To the naked eye, it would be DULL, but every citizen will be wearing AR (Augmented Reality) glasses, as a huge cyberscape will unfold before you.

Anyways, a part of my vision 😎

Awesome thread, S+F

originally posted by: jjkenobi
Hopefully the city of tomorrow will not have gates or walls and will freely accept anyone who can stumble into town and definitely not separate any families that wander in.

That doesn't seem too likely.

If I had to guess, the city of tomorrow will be heavily fortified, and it will be a gun-free zone.
Residents will not own anything useful- no knives, hammers, or tools of any kind. This will free them up to "use their time more effectively". They'll need to pay for each meal to be prepared for them.
They'll also need to pay for water- you'll have metered showers and toilets, and your account will be billed automatically based on your water use- and disposal.
Transportation will be all be public. Walking will be encouraged, but high traffic areas will be designed more like airports- high speed shuttles, moving sidewalks, etc.

Basically, the whole thing is an absolute nightmare.

a reply to: lordcomac

Sounds like Black Mirror episode "15 Million Merits".

We are chasing our tails, running on a tread mill moving ahead, and not going anywhere.

originally posted by: musicismagic
Not a good idea, and why would someone want to live in a walled city?

They do that in Canada. They have underground cities insulated against the cold, with all the apartment blocks, offices connected by Metro lines. You don't need to go outside in Winter. Norway do the same thing - they converted streets into indoor shopping malls simply by building glass atriums between the buildings and sealing them. They you get an outdoor feel but without the heat of Summer or cold of Winter.

Some cities in Texas do the same with the shopping malls due to the heat. So it would be logical to do that with a desert city. Perhaps even create a Buckminister style domed city to maintain a comfortable environment. By minimizing the surface area / volume ratio of the buildings, you can reduce the costs of cooling/heating.

a reply to: musicismagic
Why do some people pay to live in a gated community. It's For exclusivity for one and security (no beggars, no unknown callers etc.) for another.
Well what I see is the new god (whoops I mean Mr Gates) building his new Eden (in his own image) and only the worthy (I mean the rich) will be allowed to enter and live there. Well protected from the minions that is the human race.

Great. Just like with EPCOT. One rich white man's version of what an "ideal" community should be.

originally posted by: Arnie123
Very neat and cool article!!!!

Long before this thread and article, I use to sit back and think about a new city. It was my personal city.

It would be vast and new concepts needed, so naturally, I would build out in the desert.

So, my setting is a vast, flat open desert, primed and ready for construction.

This would be the epicenter of a vast new smart city. Utilizing vast solar arrays of the latest built, vast wind farms and maybe a nuclear reactor for any additional power.

My city would be angled and flat, various hues of black and white. To the naked eye, it would be DULL, but every citizen will be wearing AR (Augmented Reality) glasses, as a huge cyberscape will unfold before you.

Anyways, a part of my vision 😎

Awesome thread, S+F

Thanks

a reply to: lostbook

The start of wayward pines.

Actually this could be a good thing, but money and people have a tendency to f it up.

Will enjoy keeping an eye on this