https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Economy


News

A billion dollar ghost town

A billion dollar ghost town

Experimental city will have houses, streets and cars, but no people
  • Written by conley
  • 14th May 2012

It’s a ghost story with a twist. Officials in New Mexico announced plans for a $1 billion scientific town with Wi-Fi, robotic cars and commercial districts — everything but people, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The town will be developed in Lea County, near Hobbs in southeastern New Mexico. It will be a test city where researchers can try out all kinds of new gadgets and systems — toilets that flush themselves, cars that don’t need drivers, intelligent traffic lights and next-generation wireless networks.

The idea is to run the tests in a place where they won’t interfere with anything else. Hence, no people.

“The only thing we won’t be doing is destructive testing, blowing things up — I hope,” said Bob Brumley, senior managing director of Pegasus Holdings, which is developing the town through its New Mexico subsidiary, CITE Development.

The town will even have a geeky name: the Center for Innovation, Technology and Testing. It will be developed on about 15 square miles west of Hobbs.

The ghost town is modeled after a real city, Rock Hill, S.C. There will be all the usual town amenities, including highways, offices and fully equipped houses. The developer plans to break ground on the town by June 30.

New Mexico officials hailed the project as an economic boost for the area hard-hit after the oil bust of the 1980s. It is expected to create 350 permanent jobs and about 3,500 indirect jobs through design, development, construction and operation.

Tags: Economy Public Works & Utilities Smart Cities & Technology News

Most Recent


  • budget
    Four steps to ensure your budget prioritizes equity
    When you think of municipal budgets, the first thing that comes to mind is likely numbers. Many rows and many columns of numbers. But veteran municipal leaders know that successful budgets are about far more than numbers—they’re about quality of life and opportunities for every person in a community. For this reason, the budget process […]
  • Impact investing merges making money with making a social impact
    As cities and counties move to address the diverse social problems faced by constituents in their communities, one long-standing and nearly universal hurdle stands in their way: financing. Governments are traditionally funded by taxation, which presents a challenge, especially for low-income communities. This makes it so either outside investment from the federal or state governments, […]
  • As ransomware threat increases, a shift in minimum cyber insurance standards is hardening digital defenses
    In the last decade, the threat of ransomware and other cyberactivity has increased dramatically—more than ever, targeted organizations are paying the criminal perpetrators to have their information restored.  “Over the last year there has been an almost threefold increase in the proportion of victims paying ransoms of $1 million or more: up from 4 percent in 2020 […]
  • EV chargers
    Cities steadily adding more EV chargers for public to use
    Local governments are making headway as they develop their electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. “Progress varies depending on what stage governments are at in the electrification strategy and funding availability,” says Brandon Branham, assistant city manager and chief technology officer for Peachtree Corners, Ga., which is part of the Atlanta metro. Its 2022 population is estimated […]

7 comments

  1. Avatar Firedog 15th May 2012 @ 11:46 am
    Reply

    Is CITE Development paying $1
    Is CITE Development paying $1 Billion for this, or is it a government funded experiment that is paying CITE Development?

  2. Avatar conley 15th May 2012 @ 5:50 pm
    Reply

    According to the New Mexico
    According to the New Mexico Business Weekly, (http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2012/05/08/pegasus-breaking-ground-in-june-on-1b.html) the developer, Pegasus Global Holdings LLC, will build the scientific test town with funds from private investors as well as expected revenue generated from the project once it begins operating.

  3. Avatar pto 1st June 2012 @ 11:59 am
    Reply

    I agree totally with firedog.
    I agree totally with firedog. The article says nothing about who is paying for this. When will our elected officials start thinking about how we spend 40% more everyday than we have coming in? This may be nice for the people who live there that need jobs, but the rest of us get to pay interest on it for how many years to come? Has anyone done a benefit/cost ratio calculation?

  4. Avatar An overly skeptical Swamp Yankee 1st June 2012 @ 4:02 pm
    Reply

    And why, pray tell, does
    And why, pray tell, does anyone think (or justify) that an experimental town/(City) without people will realistically account for “people generated” issues, incidents, accidents, and/or unintentional (or intentional) misuse or overuse of fully automated peope proof features?

  5. Avatar Anonymous 28th June 2012 @ 6:38 pm
    Reply

    We can hide out here during
    We can hide out here during the zombie apocalypse. 😉

  6. Avatar Mag 31st December 2012 @ 2:41 pm
    Reply

    The people factor I would
    The people factor I would think should be an important aspect of the research, but I suppose that can be factored out mathmatically. Perhaps even human randomness can be accounted for as well. What about the human tendency to screw things up no matter how “idiot-proof” it is made?

  7. Avatar kevinpatrick 15th October 2013 @ 8:37 am
    Reply

    New Mexico officials hailed
    New Mexico officials hailed the project as an economic boost for the area hard-hit after the oil bust of the 1980s. Now they have improved a lot and implemented latest technologies. I am always searching for informative information like this. Thanks for sharing with us.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery
  • Rethinking the ways cities can invest in vital neighborhoods
  • How to innovate and invest on a budget in state and local IT services
  • Treasury Department launches Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to deliver $350 billion in funding

White papers


The PIO’s Ultimate Guide to Social Media

16th May 2022

Gain Greater Visibility Into Your Public Works Fleet

16th May 2022

Arizona Arts Center Meets Rapid Deadline with Hundreds of Thousands in Savings

26th April 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

Report: Nearly 95 percent of America’s mayors face harassment, threats and violence dlvr.it/SQTn2z

16th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

The PIO’s Ultimate Guide to Social Media dlvr.it/SQTdCK

16th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Gain Greater Visibility Into Your Public Works Fleet dlvr.it/SQSqXG

16th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Report: Almost half of public sector retirees don’t touch their retirement plans for a decade dlvr.it/SQKMjp

13th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Four steps to ensure your budget prioritizes equity dlvr.it/SQJgZz

13th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Victims of Surfside condo collapse settle for nearly $1B in class action lawsuit dlvr.it/SQJffb

13th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Impact investing merges making money with making a social impact dlvr.it/SQGBgv

12th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Amazon Business caters to the public sector with technology-driven features and benefits dlvr.it/SQF2Gm

12th May 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X