Telosa: City of the Future
"The mission of Telosa is to create a more equitable and sustainable future. That's our North Star." – Marc Lore
What does one do when they become a billionaire? Build a city, of course. Telosa is the vision of Marc Lore, an entrepreneur, businessman, investor, and NBA owner, who sold his company Quidsi to Amazon for $545 million, and Jet.com to Walmart for $3.3 billion. The "e-commerce Wizard" was named one of the smartest people in technology by Fortune Magazine, and after Jet.com's acquisition, the highest paid executive in America.
The utopian city—named after the Greek word telos, meaning "higher purpose"—has a target population of 5 million people by 2050, supported by a reformed version of capitalism. The economics of how it all works is called Equitism, described as "inclusive growth". This would enable its residents to participate in the decision-making and budgeting process.
The type of land ownership would be based on Georgist principles, where anyone would be licensed to build, keep or sell a home, but the city retains ultimate ownership of the land. It's akin to leasehold land in False Creek, or the University Endowment Lands—an unincorporated area that lies to the west of the city of Vancouver which has no mayor or municipal government. While it may seem farfetched, Lor selected famous Danish architect Bjark Ingels to design the metropolis, adding further credence to the project.
Visit The City of Telosa website to learn more.
Credit: Bjarke Ingels Group and Bucharest studio