Bill Gates Buys Big Chunk of Land in Arizona to Build “Smart City”

[Megalith]

One of Bill Gates' investment firms has spent $80 million to kickstart the development of a brand-new community in the far West Valley. The proposed community, made up of close to 25,000 acres of land, is called Belmont. According to Belmont Partners, a real estate investment group based in Arizona, the goal is to turn the land into its own "smart city."

"Belmont will create a forward-thinking community with a communication and infrastructure spine that embraces cutting-edge technology, designed around high-speed digital networks, data centers, new manufacturing technologies and distribution models, autonomous vehicles and autonomous logistics hubs," Belmont Partners said in a news release.

 

[scojer]

I wonder if he was inspired by Disney's Epcot.

 

[davethehedgehog]

And, no doubt, every where you go you'll camera's doing everything from watching how regularly you take a shit to tracking your exact location and the emotions you're expressing. For, you know, troubleshooting and product improvement purposes.

 

[Maxx]

Take my advice as someone who has read a ton of history...this kind of thing never works. Utopian cities always fail. Planned cities work as simulations at best. There was a recent one somewhere in the Southwest U.S. (I can't find it now, which is weird) which was a terrible failure with massively high suicide rates and an unsustainable standard of living.

 

[Travolta]

Right near Palo Verde nuclear power plant.

 

[mullet]

Google then Apple now Bill Gates, each trying to build the perfect Utopia. If we could just get the institutions right it will fix all of humanities problems, it's not the humans fault it the institutions that are wrong.

/mindblown

 

[Poseur]

Hey, what a coincidence! That's right near the new I-11 corridor. It's almost like he knew in advance.
http://www.i11study.com/

If only there were water for his new city. Unless he's planning on recycling all wastewater and turning rain and water vapor into drinking water, there's not much to take from the ground anymore.

If he does make an effort to do this, it MIGHT bring some high speed internet competition into Arizona? Maybe. Probably not.

 

[Jim Kim]

Take my advice as someone who has read a ton of history...this kind of thing never works. Utopian cities always fail. Planned cities work as simulations at best. There was a recent one somewhere in the Southwest U.S. (I can't find it now, which is weird) which was a terrible failure with massively high suicide rates and an unsustainable standard of living.

All traces of it have been stricken from print media and the internet because just the mere mention of it caused people to take their own life.
Quite horrible if you ask me, good thing you didn't find anything.

 

[Master_shake_]

so... no liberals allowed?

i jest.

but seriously right?

 

[Dead Parrot]

If he and his fellow investors want to spend their own money to build this and want to comply with water use and other environmental regulations, power to them. If they start begging for local, state and federal subsidies and tax breaks and/or breaks from water use or other environmental regulations, screw-em.

 

[Maxx]

All traces of it have been stricken from print media and the internet because just the mere mention of it caused people to take their own life.
Quite horrible if you ask me, good thing you didn't find anything.

https://nypost.com/2017/02/20/zappos-ceo-didnt-just-want-a-company-he-wanted-a-cult/

Take a hike

 

[Jim Kim]

https://nypost.com/2017/02/20/zappos-ceo-didnt-just-want-a-company-he-wanted-a-cult/

Take a hike

terrible failure with massively high suicide rates.

All 3 of them massively high suicides, guess I'll be 4 after a long hike.

 

[Dermen]

If he and his fellow investors want to spend their own money to build this and want to comply with water use and other environmental regulations, power to them. If they start begging for local, state and federal subsidies and tax breaks and/or breaks from water use or other environmental regulations, screw-em.

Yeah, rich people don't like spending their money when they can spend everybody elses.

 

[vr.]

If only there were water for his new city. Unless he's planning on recycling all wastewater and turning rain and water vapor into drinking water, there's not much to take from the ground anymore.

He's got his poop water machine for that.

Maybe he's building a small country to house his H1B slaves?

Or maybe he'll bring in middle east refugees to fill that desert utopia.

 

[Krenum]

so... no liberals allowed?

i jest.

but seriously right?

No liberals & no Homers!

 

[macksomerville]

Right near Palo Verde nuclear power plant.

I hope so, less of a commute

 

[dethklokworkorange]

No Portal 2 comparison? This thread would have Cave Johnson rolling over in his grave. Not even a comment about being a reverse-Rapture. For shame.

 

[SecretStash]

No Portal 2 comparison? This thread would have Cave Johnson rolling over in his grave. Not even a comment about being a reverse-Rapture. For shame.

 

[Geef]

Maybe he was just playing too much Castlevania?!? Simon Belmont's whip was known as vampire killer. I have a feeling a few roads in this new city will be: Simon St, Whip St, Vampire St, Quest St.

 

[RayderR6]

Interesting, while it could just become a cult, I say go for it. Just abide by the limited resources the rest of us have and don't use it as an "Elysium" launch pad to the space station

 

[CaptNumbNutz]

Big ambitions, completely pre-planned city, right in the middle of the desert...I hope this doesn't turn into another California City.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/california-city-unbuilt-suburb
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/california-city

Only now, 60 years later, does this city have any population. The city didn't even start getting some population until the state itself stuck a prison out there and then some support infrastructure around the prison started popping up. IIRC, 3/4 of it's total land mass is still completely empty.

 

[jamesv]

I’m sure Gates knows the history of similar communities from the Everglades to the deserts.
Hope he succeeds and $omething can be learned.

Im always Leary Of persuasive naming like ACA, Great Society, Jobs Council, etc.
Smart City would likely be a city of dummies so the Smart Guy can blame somebody when they realize the Desert is hot and dry.

 

[DocFaustus]

No liberals & no Homers!

But you let in Homer Glumplich

 

[PaulP]

I guess when you are a billionaire you can afford to flush hundreds of millions on unattainable utopian dreams. I guess this is one way to get a park named after you, even if nobody ever uses it.

 

[Krenum]

But you let in Homer Glumplich

Uh-Hilk

 

[lcpiper]

Google then Apple now Bill Gates, each trying to build the perfect Utopia. If we could just get the institutions right it will fix all of humanities problems, it's not the humans fault it the institutions that are wrong.

/mindblown

Corporations, institutions, government, it's all just people man, it's always just people. Gentle and vicious, honest and corrupt, selfish and giving. This is why you can never stop people from doing bad things and it's because at our root, we are just human. All we can do is try to make things right, or as right as we can.

Work calls, brb

 

[GNUse_the_force]

Big ambitions, completely pre-planned city, right in the middle of the desert...I hope this doesn't turn into another California City.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/california-city-unbuilt-suburb
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/california-city

Only now, 60 years later, does this city have any population. The city didn't even start getting some population until the state itself stuck a prison out there and then some support infrastructure around the prison started popping up. IIRC, 3/4 of it's total land mass is still completely empty.

wow thats some fallout 3 shit right there just waiting for a fatman to happen.