Diapers.com founder Marc Lore is proposing a “city of the future” in the water-scarce American desert. Arizona is one of the states being proposed as a possible location for the new city. The idea is drawing reactions from experts on urban environments, development and resource management. One question being asked: How could such a city overcome the numerous hurdles to achieving long-term sustainability in a challenging climate like desert? Zhihua Wang, a Fulton Schools associate professor of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering, who researches sustainable cities, says such a city would face all of the problems that now confront the Phoenix metropolitan area, including water scarcity and climate change. But, he adds, planners of a new city might be successful by learning from the experiences of existing cities how to avoid the pitfalls that have historically hindered their progress.

See also:  A huge new city is being built in the US desert – but is it just greenwashing? TimeOut, September 21