A new city in America that sets a global standard for urban living, expands human potential, and becomes a blueprint for future generations and participatory democracy."
Sept.15 (DP.net).– Telosa is a name derived from the Greek word ‘telos’ which means ‘higher purpose’. Telosa is not only an experiment in urbanization but also a profound social experiment. Initially, the land 
will be donated to a community endowment, which will use the money made through increasing land values to enhance public services and make sure every single citizen has equal access to healthcare, housing, education, and transportation. Eventually, its creator imagines a city with an economic system allowing all citizens to have a stake in the land; as the city does better, the residents do better. Thus they call their project "Equitism", a twist on capitalism centered around community ownership.
In other words, the experiment consists in creating a new city in America that sets a global standard for urban living, expands human potential, and becomes a blueprint for future generations.
They also conceive it as a participatory democracy experiment where the urban community "freely exchanges ideas and information to build accountability, competency, authenticity, and trust." To achieve this, transparent participatory democracy will be led by a council and city manager model with strong community engagement and involvement. The City Charter will be mission and vision-oriented to put people first.
Furthermore, the new city is conceived as an ecologically friendly urban project where fresh water is stored, cleaned and reused on-site and alternative renewable energy resources power the city. Following the promise of full participation, citizens will be periodically informed about these and other political decisions and may actively take part in the process.
The entrepreneur Marc Lore, founder of Jet.com and promoter of the Telosa project, explains that: “We have a chance to prove a new model for society that offers people a higher quality of life and greater opportunity. When I look out 30 years from now, I imagine Equitism serving as a blueprint for other cities — and even the world — and Telosa being a place of pride for all who live there.”
To achieve his dream, Lore hired Danish architect Bjarke Ingels who is already working on drawing the plans for the city to be built in an area of 600 square kilometers in an empty desert area in the border of Nevada and Utah. However, this dream city will not be built overnight. As of now, the proposed budget for Telosa is at a whopping $400 billion, but they expect to have the project ready for some 50,000 people by 2030. He has been able to get some backing from Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak who has proposed a bill that would allow technology companies to establish innovation zones that function in part as a local government that supports resident housing, schools, retail, transportation, power generation and health care facilities, and fosters economic development.
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