Las Vegas Is Getting a $7.5 Billion “Smart City”

Autonomous cars, self-healing sidewalks and supertrees abound

Bleutech

When you think eco-friendly and zero waste, your thoughts obviously turn to, well, not Las Vegas.

That could change: Bleutech Park is a proposed $7.5 billion “digital infrastructure mini-city” in the Las Vegas Valley that promises to be a model of efficiency and technology.

The mixed-use development (which technically falls outside Las Vegas’s city jurisdiction) will feature workforce housing, offices, retail space, residential, hotel and entertainment areas. Nothing new there, but the real features include the reliance on renewable energy sources, autonomous vehicles, AI, augmented reality, robotics and self-healing concrete structures. The flooring systems will capture energy produced by people walking; buildings will feature photovoltaic glass that’ll essentially turn their facades into giant solar panels. And the area will use something called “supertrees,” which will help reduce imported water consumption by 95 percent.

“With the use of unmanned aerial systems and AI, the construction site will become a living, breathing blueprint,” as a press release from Bleutech Park Properties notes. “The mini-city will showcase energy generation and storage, waste-heat recovery, water purification, on-site waste treatment and localized air cleaning.” As well, the development will provide workforce housing to middle-class jobs like nurses, police officers, teachers and firemen who provide services for the general population.

As the Architect’s Newspaper notes, Bleutech’s mini-city is part of a trend toward smart city test sites, including the Quayside project in Toronto and Blockchains LLC’s plans near Reno.

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