"Ghost Cities" Are Not Just For China

"Ghost Town" in Kangbashi District of China

     Have you heard of the "ghost cities" in China?  Australian news program SBS Dateline reports that 10 new cities are built each year.  Even though China has become a leader in development, it seems they have a problem.  They have built huge cities under the false impression that "if you build it, they will come."  But they haven't.  It seems that China got a little overzealous in their recent economic boom, building cities filled with office towers, administrative centers, government buildings, museums, theaters and sports fields — not to mention acre on acre of subdivisions overflowing with middle-class duplexes and bungalows.  These districts were designed to house a million people, and just like the United States, their economy is not quite as strong as they pretend it is.  A housing bubble has resulted in these eerie ghost towns.
     But China is not the only nation that is building "phantom" towns.  Would it surprise you to know that Hobbs, New Mexico is the site of a brand new, fully-functional modern town devoid of people?  It is being built with the sole purpose of being a tech test bed.
     Apparently the tech company Pegasus Global Holdings is spending $1 billion in Lea County, New Mexico, to construct a town that will test a wide range of new gadgets and systems.  It will look like a city with roads, houses and buildings, but no one will live there.  According to the official pronouncements, scientists want to use it to see the effects of new technology in a "real world" setting.
     So that raises a whole boatload of questions for me.  First of all, who is this Pegasus Global Holdings?  And who financially benefits from this ghost town?  Because we all know someone will!
     According to their website, Pegasus is a recognized leader in telecommunications in North America and Europe. Pegasus is also a U.S. Government authorized prime vendor and manufacturer of defense equipment and technologies.  Pegasus has a proven track record as experts in commercializing military technologies for the global marketplace – in strict compliance with national laws and regulations pertaining to export controls – and the militarizing of global commercial technologies as COTS solutions for the DOD and other U.S. Government Agencies.  Does that inspire confidence that their intentions are noble?

Aerial view of proposed CITE community

     If it doesn't, how about this statement by Pegasus CEO Robert Brumley:  "Anything from smart grids and next-generation wireless networks to self-flushing toilets could be tested in the new town.  The only thing we won’t be doing is destructive testing, blowing things up — I hope."  I hope!?
     Called the Center For Innovation, Technology and Testing, or CITE, the Hobbs location was hailed by New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez as “one of the most unique and innovative” economic development projects the state has seen. She noted that no tax breaks were given for the development. “The only thing they have asked for is guidance,” she said.  What exactly does that mean?
     It appears that New Mexico was the ideal location because developers were looking for open spaces. Another plus was the proximity to federal research facilities like White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico and Los Alamos and Sandia national labs.  Interesting, huh?  ----  Especially considering the assertion that CITE is modeled after Disney World.  He stated, "In some ways, the center would be like a playground for scientists and innovators. Brumley envisions it as a place where people developing new technologies could run large-scale experiments in real-world conditions that — for practical, financial, bureaucratic or safety reasons — they wouldn't be able to do elsewhere. People can go there and experiment without restrictions," he says.
     No matter how beneficial "unrestricted experimentation" might be for our country or the human race, I don't think this is going to be anything like Disney World; or for that matter, any ride we've ever been on.

Psalm 39:6       "Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be."