 Alexander Hurley Aug 31, 2017 02:07  | I like the ambitiousness of the idea and the wonderful graphics that accompany your proposal. The location of such a place, as you mention, is quite difficult to work out. Being on the Mexico/US border is intriguing but has plenty of challenges too - weather, isolation, politics, etc. Also, the phrase "World Capital" is going to present you with some problems, as many countries will take issue with this idea in general. Also, the up-front infrastructure costs are certainly going to be more than one billion, as you listed. A more comprehensive budget is needed to take this idea seriously. And it should include not just the infrastructure at the location itself, but any infrastructure that needs to be built to facilitate transportation to and from this location. Might even need a new airport. |
 Enrique Posada Sep 8, 2017 06:35  | Amazing imagination put into graphics and ideas. It is important to think more in relationship to investments, sources of financing and also small scale pilot projets to test the idea |
 Emil Jacob Sep 10, 2017 10:09 | Proposal contributor Hi Alexander, Thank you for your feedback. My apologies for the late reply. Yes, this project is politically even more complex than from an organizational and technical perspective. I do think though that with the right initiative, leadership and some luck it has some possibilities. Even deciding how to grant visas to enter the territory can be a complicated issue. One thought I have is to have the Visas granted either by Mexico or the US - so in this way neither country looses sovereignty of the territory. Only the US and Mexico could grant "GCC-Visa" I agree that the term "World Capital" is too charged politically. Probably the name Global Civic Center is better suited and also more accurate. About the infrastructure costs I understand that $1b is too low. I think a lot depends on what kind of critical mass it succeeds in attracting from the start. Let's say $1b is spent on building desalinization plants and pipes from the ocean, roads and streets, solar and wind power as well as electrical infrastructure. Perhaps it might be double of triple the cost which will be challenging to raise at first. However if the project gets traction it will quickly become easy through the sale of land which will begin to rise in price dramatically. About airports it might be better to take advantage of the existing infrastructure, at least initially. I am thinking of introducing the elevated cTrain model - as part of the initial infrastructure. After landing with a GCC-Visa in either of the four airports below the elevated cTrain goes directly into the territory without necessitating a visa to enter the US or Mexico (though the permission to proceed to the GCC will be granted by either Mexican or US authorities. Thanks again for your feedback and please feel free to forward to anyone to review and click to enter their support if they like the concept. Best regards, Emil
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Emil Jacob Sep 12, 2017 11:56 | Proposal contributor Many standards will be required to accomplish the goals of the Global Civic Center as a blueprint for sustainable cities. the following link is a video by the World Economic Forum showing that all food shopping/packaging needs can be met at a high quality level without the use of plastic bags, packaging and various related plastic products. Not only is this a great way to reduce emissions from petroleum processing but also a way to restore ecosystems by reducing the enormous quantities of plastic waste damaging the planet.
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Emil Jacob Sep 12, 2017 11:04 | Proposal contributor Other interesting proposals on the same topic such as CoLab entry: Proposal for The Smart Zero Carbon Cities Challenge 2016 by naresh ECO-CITY covers the goals of the GCC/CoLab City model in many areas from Water, Energy, Transport and more |
Emil Jacob Sep 30, 2017 01:41 | Proposal contributor
One of the features of the Global Civic Center: Farming with using 90% less water and even lass land than in traditional agriculture
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