NewVistas:
Massively Scalable Sustainability with Respect for the Human Scale
David R. Hall
with the assistance of
Carl J. Belliston
Joel W. Pomije
Lawrence Switzer
Last Updated: May 27, 2014
CONCEPT OVERVIEW
NewVistas is a concept for achieving global environmental balance by building a network
of environmentally and socially sustainable villages, communities, and megalopolises. It
combines sustainability with massive scalability to achieve a comprehensive approach to human
development.
A NewVista is a cluster of sustainable, planned urban communities designed for
replication on a global scale. If NewVistas were built throughout the world, sustainable
prosperity could be achieved globally. The NewVistas concept orchestrates industry, agriculture,
commerce, and living space in a harmonious system that achieves environmental balance and
provides a modern, healthy lifestyle for all of earth’s inhabitants—without compromising the
ability of future generations to do the same.
NewVistas is unique among eco-development concepts because it limits the human
footprint by integrating industry, agriculture, commerce, and living space in a massively scalable
way. Localization enables a live/work environment that is completely walkable. Heavy industry
is within walking distance, and the primary raw materials for the infrastructure of sand, gravel
and stone are extracted locally. Community agriculture, including intensive rooftop greenhouses
and backyard-garden food production, uses local marginal labor and provides a healthy diet of
fresh, locally grown food. Transportation easements offer access to efficient, mechanized
transport for the disabled and for goods. NewVista localizes energy production using advanced
renewable and full-cycle carbon technologies, while maximizing efficiency through local
consumption and full-cycle design. Modular two-level buildings with rooftop greenhouses can be
massively replicated and allow functional and aesthetic customization. Each work-live unit in a
NewVista standard building has commercial frontage on the ground floor and housing on the
second floor that opens to a private patio and unobstructed vistas. NewVistas is also innovative
in its organization as a trust operating through two for-profit entities with bylaws that govern
sustainable operation.
The NewVistas project is an initiative to design a system of environmentally sustainable,
economically viable, and socially integrated communities that incorporate the following:


Small physical footprint, i.e., the required physical space to provide for all of the needs of
each individual. A NewVista allots about 400 square meters (0.1 acre) per person.

 

Repeatability, i.e., all built elements in NewVista are designed to be replicated on a
massive scale. This includes patterns for buildings, walkways, utility easements, gardens,
industrial facilities, hubs, commercial space, greenhouses, community centers, energy
generation infrastructure, and methods of transportation.



Walking as the primary mode of transportation. Point-to-point mechanized transportation
is provided for goods, families with young children, the elderly, and disabled persons.



Small, private-space housing units. Private-space housing is characterized by space that
transforms per use and is flexible enough to accommodate a variety of household sizes,
each on the second floor but with walk-in access and a view. The full concept of housing
expands beyond private-space housing to public multipurpose buildings, which combine
to allow every participant in the community to live in a mansion.



A fully integrated live-work-cultivate environment. NewVista provides for the
combination of living and working in the same or a nearby area, including industry and
raising food.



Buildings and fixtures designed for a very long life; energy efficiency; sound and
vibration isolation; materials recyclability; and resistance to natural forces such as wind,
flood, earthquake and fire.



Locally grown, labor-intensive, in-season, organic food. Fish ponds, chickens, and rabbits
provide protein and fertilizer for greenhouse and agriculture production.



Greenhouses on all roofs. Greenhouse roofs integrate with heating, cooling, and
ventilation systems.



Energy produced locally using the sun, wind, and earth, supplemented as necessary by
full-cycle systems that release no emissions.



Full-cycle design for material use, re-use, and re-processing.



Extensive use of local, massively scalable, raw materials such as sand, rock, brick, and
concrete, with locally grown wood used for texture and trim. Steel structures utilizing
small spans are incorporated into all building construction, as well as recyclable basic
materials such as glass, plastics, and carbon-based fabrics.



Clean and efficient transportation options beyond NewVista communities. These may
include fuel-efficient rental vehicles, mass transit between NewVistas, and connections
with existing transportation infrastructure.

The NewVistas project is currently in its conceptual development, research, and design
stage, outlining how to build and operate sustainable, massive, planned urban developments.
This stage consists mainly of research in creating, finding, and integrating technologies and
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 practices into a cohesive plan that will become the design prototype for the actual engineering,
building, and operation of NewVistas. Novatek, Inc. also has conducted a number of experiments
testing the workability of some of the components of a NewVista community.
The next stage will consist mainly of prototyping elements of the community,
culminating in both a network of NewVista-supported businesses operating in accordance with
NewVista principles and the creation and operation of individual houses, villages, and a district
of 800 residents utilizing NewVista housing and one main campus building. Stage two includes
arranging the basic financial infrastructure of a NewVista community, selecting sites, and
completing detailed engineering and design.
Following stage two, the pattern can be replicated to create the first communities.
NEWVISTA COMMUNITY
Community Layout
A NewVista is a large urban area that aggregates 50 closely knit diamond-shaped
communities, each with a population of between 15,000 and 20,000 participants. A single
NewVista community is laid out in a diamond shape to enable ease of integration with
surrounding communities and interconnection with other NewVistas. Each community occupies
7.46 square kilometers (2.88 square miles) and includes areas for industry and agriculture,
bringing all of the necessities of daily life to within walking distance. The primary central area of
the diamond is a square that constitutes a commercial-residential area. This area is surrounded on
all sides by triangular agricultural-industrial zones that give the overall community the shape of a
diamond.
The entire commercial-residential area of the community is covered with gardens and
buildings with greenhouses on the roofs, utilizing every bit of community surface area for food
production. Centrally located buildings provide facilities for community activities and needs that
require larger spaces, such as hospitals, schools, churches, offices, shopping centers, meeting and
conference centers, and sports and theater complexes. The commercial-residential area comprises
modular buildings that are easily replicated yet flexible enough to accommodate a wide variety
of needs and styles. Private-space housing is included in standard buildings that are grouped
together in rows of ten to create what is designated as a village. Most blocks in the community
are composed of two villages brought together, with the front of standard buildings facing out to
the sides of adjacent blocks. This creates an alternating pattern where views and vistas are
available to the front and back of every standard building, and every household has a vista. Each
village has its own village square in front and gardens in back.
Walkability
Adherence to the principle of walkability is integral to achieving massively scalable
sustainability while respecting the human scale. Localizing food and energy production and
building local solutions for waste management and materials use, re-use, and recycling also aids
in keeping the built environment scaled to human use. Through a fully integrated, comprehensive
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 design that enables walkability for all, NewVista removes the need for personal automobiles.
There are many other added benefits to bringing the whole of one’s immediate daily needs to
within walking distance, including a greater sense of community and a reduced sense of
alienation with the environment by living at the human scale.
A NewVista is a Megalopolis of Approximately One Million People
The NewVistas concept is for large planned urban developments. Each NewVista,
comprising 50 tightly clustered communities of up to 20,000 people each, forms an integrated
metropolitan area of approximately one million people. This is sufficient to support large-scale
industry, sophisticated commerce, and excellence in cultural amenities.
Clustering into NewVistas allows the maintenance and restoration of large open green
spaces, enhancing the availability of wildlife corridors and enabling the natural cycles of
ecosystems to regain their foothold. NewVistas may be built upon existing agricultural lands
with minimal impact, as their food productivity is much higher than conventional agricultural
methods. The NewVistas design works with existing geologic formations and natural drainages,
allowing it to be constructed on virtually any terrain. The current world population could be
housed sustainably in 7,000 NewVistas; this would occupy only 1,008,000 square miles, or
approximately 10% of the earth’s existing arable land.
Each community within a NewVista is sustainable because its entire ecological footprint
is coextensive with its physical dimensions.
Planned Unit Development
Each NewVista community is organized as a planned unit development, owned and
operated by a trust operating through two for-profit entities. The trust and its entities are subject
to the existing political structures and laws of the region in which they are situated. The land and
infrastructure of the community are owned by one of the entities, a property holding company.
All intellectual property and most financial assets are owned by the other entity, a capital fund.
Business assets are leased to single-owner enterprises called VistaBizzes who operate on
a common computer platform. All participants in the community provide contracted services to
other private VistaBizzes through voluntary agreements. Virtually all production of goods and
services in a NewVista community is accomplished by VistaBizzes. Housing is provided as a
benefit of providing contracted services to or owning a VistaBiz. Participants and their
dependents are required to abide by the rules and bylaws of the community.
Villages, communities, and NewVistas will be in competition with one another to provide
the best environment in which its residents can lead a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. This ensures
that the operation of each community is governed by sound economic relationships. Participants
will follow policies aimed at maintaining full-cycle systems and keeping the community’s
ecological footprint at the smallest level. Guidelines for VistaBizzes and individual participants
will discourage the importation of goods and services that are produced externally in
unsustainable ways. A key goal is to ensure that it is in the best interests of all participants to
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 work together to maintain the community as a viably sustainable operation, which ensures the
high quality of life that is intended by a comprehensive eco-community and mandated by
community bylaws.
NewVistas are not intended as political structures, nor are they intended to influence local
governmental policies. They will naturally be subject to the laws and taxation of the areas in
which they exist, but primarily, residents and VistaBizzes will conform to community bylaws.
When individuals come to a NewVista community, they will deposit their intellectual
assets and cash with the community capital fund (except for operating cash, which will be
deposited into an account at the community’s approved bank), receiving legal instruments
acknowledging the deposits. If a participant owns real property, automobiles, or other large
personal assets that cannot be used in the community, such assets must be sold and the proceeds
must be deposited. If a participant owns business assets that will be used in a VistaBiz, those
assets will be transferred to the property holding company in exchange for financial notes in the
community and leased back to the participant. Participants will enter into agreements with the
property holding company for private-space housing, business space, and business equipment.
They may enter into agreements with the capital fund for business funding. The community will
have the aggregated assets of all of its participants for leveraging in the purchase and
maintenance of infrastructure.
A very important aspect of this arrangement is that competition will remain a
fundamental element of economic activity from the very top of the community structure to each
individual. Participants and VistaBizzes will be free to walk away from their existing space,
village, or community at any time. This is facilitated by short-term real estate commitments and
the lack of substantial personal property ownership because all durable goods and infrastructure
will be owned by the property holding company. If a village president is unable to manage
his/her facilities and residents in a way that conforms to community bylaws and the expectations
of participants, it will be a simple matter for those who are dissatisfied to leave—to walk away
and take up residence or operate their VistaBiz in a village or community that is being managed
in a way that is more attractive. Best practices will become the natural mode of operation at all
levels of NewVista as the individual’s ability to walk away becomes a primary motivator for
maintaining sustainability. It will be incumbent upon all residents and officers of the community
to ensure that the community operates within its allotted footprint of 400 square meters (0.1
acres) per person.
CORPORATE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Parallel to Physical Layout
In the NewVistas model, community governance parallels the built environment. Officers
of the trust, capital fund, and property holding company are appointed to their positions and live
and work directly with the neighbors they manage. The cohesive nature of leadership structures
and physical structures enables a high level of transparency and direct interaction between
residents and leaders who have responsibility for maintenance, administration, and oversight.
Individuals who are appointed to positions of management are all required to reside in the
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 community and abide by community bylaws. By being directly involved in the day-to-day
operations of the houses, groups, villages, and communities, the individuals appointed to
leadership positions maintain local responsibility and are able to arbitrate disputes easily.
For-Profit Entity Without Owners
A NewVista community consists of two for-profit entities that are owned by a trust
established for the benefit of participants. Participants cannot sell or otherwise transfer their
beneficial interests in the trust. The trustees must ensure that the capital fund and the property
holding company are operated in the interests of participants collectively. Since participants’
interests are defined to include the maintenance of ecological and social sustainability in all
matters affecting the community, the potential for pecuniary gain is limited, and private
ownership interests are effectively eliminated.
A participant may obtain non-voting interests in the capital fund as part of his/her
stewardship in the community, but the potential return on investment is capped. The participant
may sell his/her interest back to the capital fund in specified circumstances, but transfers to third
parties are generally not allowed, and speculative returns are precluded.
The capital fund and property holding company produce and/or provide few goods or
services directly, except for licensing intellectual property and leasing real property and business
assets to participants. The productive engine of a NewVista community ultimately comprises
hundreds of VistaBizzes whose activities are coordinated through a sophisticated computer
platform and are supported by the community leadership structure.
Large Corporate Support
Each NewVista community effectively is a large corporate enterprise and thus is able to
leverage its assets and finances in a way that small businesses cannot. One of the great benefits
of the NewVistas model for VistaBizzes within a community is that each VistaBiz is provided
with many of the services that are needed to properly manage operations and profitability, such
as accounting services, QHSE (quality, health, safety, and environment) controls, marketing, and
business development. In this respect, each NewVista community can be viewed as an active
business incubator. A ten percent fee on the net income of all VistaBizzes is assessed to pay for
these services. This is vastly less than traditional overhead costs that normally are incurred when
businesses pay for these services themselves or provide them in-house. The community can
employ the very best individuals in needed fields and offer their expertise to all participants in
the community.
In addition to executive and QHSE officers, there are administrative, information,
operations, accounting, marketing, and financial officers within a management structure that
extends to the very basic levels of community operations. The capital fund and property holding
company may employ (typically as VistaBiz contractors) individuals who are not part of the
management structure of those entities to carry out all of the functions of those entities. Such
individuals may include inspectors, information technology advisors, repair and maintenance
technicians, and bookkeepers, among many others. Again, the lack of duplication of these
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 services within the community and the removal of the need for individuals and VistaBizzes to
provision these services for themselves will greatly enhance the efficiency and quality—and
reduce the overhead costs—associated with these services.
With each community acting within a distinct legal structure, and property holding
companies owning all physical assets, individuals and VistaBizzes will have great freedom to
move from one community to another, enforcing best practices as a means by which
communities will compete with one another for participants. The profitability of a community’s
capital fund is directly dependent upon the performance of its participants and VistaBizzes, so it
is in the best interests of the community to do what it can to facilitate the success of VistaBizzes
and the effectiveness of participants.
FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
Modularity
Modularity in design is a primary consideration in the conceptualizing and engineering of
NewVista infrastructure and physical assets. Adherence to this design principle enables
scalability and flexibility. Down to the smallest details such as wall units, storage space, and
lighting elements, NewVistas seeks to standardize units and dimensions in order to facilitate
manufacture, assembly, and flexible configuration.
Modularity allows NewVista structures and the NewVista community to scale from an
individual to a household to a village and to a community.
Core Modules
Bed and bath modules shared by two or more individuals have store-away beds, pulldown walls and doors, virtually waterless toilets, high-efficiency fixtures, and a sink and shower.
All of these elements combine to make a fully functional and highly efficient module that can be
easily mass-produced with attention to full-cycle design in both production and use. In the
NewVistas model, careful attention is paid to creating modules that will work together with all of
the accompanying systems such as waste disposal, heating and cooling, and lighting, so that a
fully integrated system can be assembled and repeated easily while maximizing the sustainability
of the system as a whole.
NewVista kitchen modules make use of the very best in high-efficiency appliances and
multi-purpose space. The design doubles as a kitchen and dining area, and can be opened up in
combination with the bed and bath module to increase open living-room area. Additionally, small
appliances that optimize energy and water usage are included. The NewVista kitchen module is
constructed of renewable and recyclable materials, and may include features such as ultrasonic
dishwashers and low-flow water faucets. Kitchen modules in NewVista buildings are designed so
that they can be reconfigured to meet the requirements of a wide variety of businesses.

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 Personal lifts are modules that are part of every house living area and allow residents to
access commercial areas of standard buildings and walkway-podways that connect to all parts of
the community.
Work-Live Units
Several core modules combine into a work-live unit for a NewVista household. The
modular components that make up the work-live unit can be transformed easily for multiple uses
and optimization of space. All of the comforts of traditional living spaces can be accommodated
while minimizing the amount of square footage allotted to each person for private-space housing.
If a large family wishes to share more space than is provided by one NewVista apartment,
an entire set of apartments can be configured to work together as a single unit. This built-in
transformable nature of NewVistas housing units allows families and other living groups great
flexibility in the way they choose to utilize and share their space. Every individual is given space
for privacy, and as long as the sustainability of a small footprint of physical living space of
approximately 180 square feet (16.7 sq. meters) per person is maintained, the NewVistas housing
format will be scalable to the global level.
One very attractive element of NewVista standard buildings is that each work-live unit, of
which there are four, has its own private patio and garden space. This provides participants with
additional privacy, unobstructed vistas, and the ability to maintain their own personal box
gardens, adding to the beauty and productivity of personal spaces.
Housing units are designated as work-live units because they can be used to operate small
businesses. The advantages of a work-live environment truly surface when one considers
NewVista work-live units that offer great flexibility and variety while simultaneously
encouraging the growth of small businesses. The physical structure of NewVista standard
buildings reinforces the idea that NewVista communities are more than just appropriate
technology applied in a thoughtful manner; they are incubators and fertile markets for the
flourishing of business opportunities and job creation.
Housing in NewVista is provided as a benefit of either providing services as a contractor
to a VistaBiz or owning and operating a VistaBiz.
Multi-family House
Work-live units combine to form a multi-family house, which is designed for 16–21
people. Each house is of a modular design and contains four work-live units. As described, the
living spaces are divided into individualized modules that can be mass-produced. The relative
number of components that make up a NewVista house is quite small. Variety in configuration
and textures is left to each individual, family, or VistaBiz. As a participant walks through a
NewVista community and in and out of the houses, they will be met by the great aesthetic
variation that is accommodated by the ability to easily change aspects such as furniture; tile
colors; wall, floor, and ceiling textures and colors; and trim. All of these elements are designed to
be quickly replaced, reused, and recycled. A NewVista house can be fitted with any façade and
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 reconfigured with units combined to meet the needs of the vast array of family types and sizes
found throughout the globe.
Standard Building
Multi-family houses compose one level of a NewVista standard building. The standard
building is structured to be mass-produced, using durable, flexible, reusable, and fully recyclable
materials. Commercial and retail facilities are integrated into the design of the standard building
so that a work-live environment is created. This integration of use is important to the socioeconomic aspects of NewVistas and to fulfill the requirement of walkability.
The standard building consists of the four work-live units, a front and back façade, aboveceiling storage areas, and utility chases. Below the work-live units is a similarly designed floor
for light industrial use and warehouse storage, and above the work-live units is a greenhouse. Of
course, each of these has its own constituent elements, but none are particularly complex, and all
are designed for maximum sustainability and scalability through mass production, efficiency, and
full-cycle systems.
It is at the level of the standard building that the NewVista leadership structure begins to
take shape. Each house has house captains, which are a team of one man and one woman. These
are a selected married couple, with each providing leadership for and dealing directly with issues
related to their gender. The house captains are part-time positions, being paid on an hourly basis,
as the duties can vary significantly from one moment to the next and are largely determined by
the immediate issues that arise with building maintenance and lease agreement fulfillment and
compliance. The house captains are foundation management positions that live in the standard
building in which they manage and interface directly with their neighbors on a daily basis. They
are the first contact that residents will have with the community organization when an issue
arises, and in many cases the house captains will refer participants to the next level of
governance found at the group. House captains will be trained in a wide variety of skills, such as
first aid and damage or repair assessment, and they will often be called upon to fulfill primary
duties required for smooth operation of the house and its facilities.
With 96 villages in a community, 960 couples—or 1,920 individuals—provide contracted parttime services at the house level of community governance. House captains are officers of the
capital fund.
Group
NewVista standard buildings are aggregated into another fundamental unit known as the
group. A group consists of approximately 80–100 people living in five standard buildings that are
next to each other. Each group of five buildings abuts a passive or an active hub of the
community.
There are two operations officer couples associated with the group, each of whom is a
village vice president. These positions, like the house captains, are part-time. Village vice
presidents report to the village president couple and coordinate the activities of their respective
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 hubs, as each group is given responsibility for managing the hub closest to it. The group is
always managed by appointees from its own residents. This fosters local responsibility and the
sense that one’s managers are directly affected by their own decisions.
The active or passive nature of hubs and their designated activities alternate, allowing
easy access to each for both groups and giving residents the opportunity to choose which type of
activities they prefer to be near. The NewVista group facilitates the sense of belonging that
comes with being part of a neighborhood.
The 96 villages of a community, each with two village–vice-president couples, add
another 384 individuals to the list of community leaders responsible for administration,
operations, and management. Village vice presidents are officers of the capital fund.
Village
Ten adjoining standard buildings, or two groups, make up a village. Management of most
services and resources is provided at the village level. Keeping waste management, farming,
water provisioning, and energy production at this localized level allows efficiency and ease of
oversight. The village houses approximately 160 to 200 people and gives residents the
opportunity to be well acquainted with their immediate neighbors, offering an excellent size for
social interaction and the ability to feel responsibilities for maintaining good relations and
operations.
A village president couple (a married man and woman) is appointed from the residents of
the village and is responsible for the management of the village as a whole. Village presidencies
provide contracted services on a part-time basis. A village president is not only responsible for
the day-to-day management of the village infrastructure and its respective vice presidents, but
also coordinates the use of the village square that lies in front of the village and the ways in
which available garden space in the back yards are used. Profitability and ensuring that
apartments are leased and physical assets are properly maintained are given attention at every
level of community governance. Village presidents, along with their vice presidents and house
captains will all have the services of the community available for use in ensuring that their
responsibilities can be executed in the very best possible ways.
Accountants will provide profit and loss statements; marketing specialists will aid in
bringing in productive businesses and in the development of business plans for new arrivals;
officers of the capital fund, together with the community’s approved bank, will be available for
the arrangement of financing for equipment purchases and other financing needs. The vibrant,
localized economy that is fostered by the NewVistas model will have great advantages enabled
by its corporate structure, and the direct involvement of its residents.
The village square in front of each village is two acres in size. It has space for food
production and social interaction with walking paths, sitting areas and space for small groups to
engage in more rigorous activities. It is the responsibility of the village presidents to lease the
garden space to local farmers and to maintain the area. Villages will be in competition with one
another to attract residents, and so the upkeep of their facilities and maintenance of sustainable
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 practices will flow naturally from this. Since participants do not personally own the housing and
can walk away easily from short-term leases, they can leave a poorly run village in favor of one
that can provide the environment in which they wish to live and/or work.
The arrangement of blocks in a NewVista community brings four rows of buildings
together in a windmill pattern, forming a hub of activity and connectivity for both the social
aspects of human use and the infrastructure of utilities and transportation. The hub metaphor is
strengthened by the visual layout of the four villages that have a common point of juncture;
viewed from above it truly looks like a windmill shape, with a hub at the center on which it
would rotate. The windmill shape that is created by the pattern of village buildings enables the
optimal harvesting of wind energy that flows throughout the community since no building blocks
the wind of another building. All walkway-podways intersect at village hubs.
Village presidencies are not only responsible for the management of the village, hubs, and
related facilities, but also are the first level of official dispute arbitration for NewVista
participants. All participants agree to abide by community bylaws and rules when they
voluntarily enter into their short-term lease agreements. Part of these lease agreements will also
include the assent to be bound by the dispute arbitration provided by community leadership. It is
important to note that NewVistas will not be political or governmental entities, and thus will be
subject to all of the laws of the land in which they are constructed. With this in mind, village
presidents will often refer matters to local civil or criminal courts when necessary, but will also
serve to keep much of the dispute arbitration to the local level where neighbors can resolve their
differences without the need for court congestion. Since village presidents are chosen from the
residents of that village, local responsibility and accountability to one’s neighbors is reinforced.
There are 96 village president couples, adding 192 individuals to the community
leadership. Village presidents are officers of the capital fund.
All levels of community leadership above the village presidents are full-time positions, of
which there are 960, as described in more detail below. Additionally, there are 144 clerks who
serve all of the presidencies and are selected from among those who are single within the
community. If these are added to the 1,920 part-time house captains, 384 part-time village vice
presidents, and 192 part-time village presidents, the total number of individuals involved in
community leadership is 3,600. This is 18 percent of a NewVista community population of
approximately 20,000 people.
District
Four villages are organized together into a district. Each district comprises approximately
800 people, and a community consists of 24 districts. A district can also be considered as being
formed by two adjacent blocks. Each district is given control of one of the 24 public buildings in
the central square and is able to make use of it for its own needs and to provide other centralized
services or businesses for the rest of the community.
Again, the physical structure and organization of districts mirrors the next level of
corporate governance. There is a presidency over each district composed of three very
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 experienced well respected couples from within the district. This presidency has specific
responsibilities over education, recreation, and cultural events, and often makes arrangements for
these types of activities to take place in the district’s central square building. The presidency also
provides a second level for the arbitration of disputes. The positions filled by the district
presidencies and their vice presidents are full-time.
Each district also is given control of a portion of the community’s adjoining agricultural
and industrial zones. It is the responsibility of the district presidencies to oversee the use of these
spaces and ensure that the manager-operators, whether farmers or industrialists abide by the
community bylaws, and maintain sustainable operations. A community will need to maintain the
high standards of sustainability that are written into the charter and bylaws of its trust, capital
fund, and property holding company because it will not have an ability to extend its existence
into the future and leverage long-term financing if it cannot prove that its operation can be
sustained without inhibiting its future residents to do the same, or prevent the build-out of
additional communities. In other words, the scalable sustainability of NewVistas is an integral
part of the successful operation of every NewVista community, and the survival of its economy.
Central Square
The community’s central square is occupied by two kinds of multipurpose buildings that
are used for things such as hospitals, schools, convention centers, auditoriums, places of worship,
and large markets. The central square consists of three 15-acre blocks, of which two comprise a
campus of 24 four-story multipurpose buildings. The third block comprises a market square,
which includes a large open market area surrounded by a large market building. The lower levels
of campus buildings open up into an underground mall, which can be used for market events and
other purposes.
The campus buildings are constructed using the same materials and methods as the
standard buildings. The interiors of campus buildings conform to the same principles of modular
and flexible design, allowing spaces to be transformed from uses such as sporting events to
convention centers or classrooms and offices. Each district is given control of the use of one of
the central square campus buildings.
The market portion of the central square has one building that surrounds a large interior
open space. The building houses restaurants, retail space, offices, and other commercial ventures
that are too large to be accommodated by the commercial-residential area or are not considered
heavy industry, and require easy centralized access for all. The interior open space can be used
for large open-air markets, sporting events that require large outdoor spaces, and cultural events
that attract large crowds. The market square is managed by the property holding company under
the direction of the community’s financial presidency.
Commercial-Residential Area
NewVista villages and the central square combine to form a central region in the
community plat that is designated as the commercial-residential area. The commercial-residential
area has a compact layout of 49 blocks that include all living quarters, commercial buildings,
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 light industrial buildings, warehouses, and public buildings in the community, tied together by
transportation and utility easements. All of these elements are laid out in an easily repeatable
geometric pattern that enables efficiency and practicality in both production and use.
NewVista communities have an aesthetic appeal that is brought about by the kind of
beauty and variety that is found in any garden. One of NewVista’s most prominent visual
features is its intensive urban agriculture, and this alone will give the communities an edenic
quality. The repeatability and scalability of patterns used for the benefit planning, manufacturing,
and operations of the community will be covered by the presence of an edible landscape, human
variety, and the penchant we have for personal adornment and embellishment of our
surroundings. Respect for the human scale is enhanced in NewVista by the dominance of
gardens, groves, and orchards. The walkable nature of NewVista communities will also serve to
enhance the beauty and variety experienced by the participants. People will not be containerized
by vehicles and herded down roads; they will walk amongst each other, amid gardens, groves
and orchards.
Industrial-Agricultural Areas
The commercial-residential area forms a square shape that is surrounded on all four sides
by triangular shaped regions intended for agriculture and heavy industry. The combination of the
commercial-residential square with the triangular areas to the north, south, east and west gives
the community its diamond shape, and enables the easy integration of many communities into a
large urban area with high population density.
Heavy industry is located within walking distance of the commercial-residential area in
the triangle to the south. This includes space for manufacturing and other industries that require
separate facilities. All operations in the industrial blocks will conform to the same stringent
environmental guidelines as the rest of the community, and its close proximity to the
commercial-residential area automatically will encourage close attention to clean and safe
methods. There is also space allotted in this area for animal agriculture. Additionally, a drilling
block is provisioned for the production of energy and extraction of raw materials. This is another
very important element of the NewVistas model because the entire scope of the community’s
needs must be provided within the 7.46 square kilometers (2.88 square miles) that the
community occupies. This allows very clear demarcation of the complete footprint of every
NewVista community.
Industrial buildings are constructed in a manner similar to the residential buildings,
making use of the same basic elements. The interior modules differ slightly, in order to
accommodate 14-foot ceilings. The buildings also include large bay doors that open to the back
lots, which are divided by retaining walls and provide large outdoor areas for storage and
workspace. The industrial buildings are strung together into villages of ten in a similar fashion to
the commercial-residential villages, and also include village squares that offer views and space
for workers to relax. A drilling block is also included in the industrial zone, in which
underground natural resources such as energy and raw materials are harvested.

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 The portion of the southern triangle of land that is not required for heavy industry,
animals, and the drilling block, together with the three triangular shaped zones to the north, west
and east of the commercial-residential area are set aside for agriculture. These will accommodate
crops that require open-field methods, but may also include additional greenhouses as needed.
All crops will be grown in strict accordance with community bylaws that mandate organic, highyield methods, and make use of technologies and techniques that conserve water and soil quality.
A great deal of labor will be required to successfully manage food production in this way, and
much of it can be provided by traditionally marginalized groups, such as the old and disabled,
giving them dependable sources of income and involving them in the community in ways that
will enhance their integration with the community as a whole.
The VistaBizzes and farmers that operate in the industrial and agricultural zones have a
great advantage in the corporate structure that supports them with such things as business
development, QHSE controls, accounting, finance and other services. A ten percent fee on the net
income of all VistaBizzes will be used to pay for these services. The purpose of this is to enable
businesses and individuals to succeed in their endeavors and to be free of the encumbrances and
overhead costs that often are prohibitive to starting and running a business.
Overall Community Layout
All of the elements of a NewVista community come together in a diamond shape. This
shape facilitates the joining of communities into a tightly woven grid, while still preserving
enough open space around commercial-residential areas to accommodate open-field agriculture
and industrial activities that cannot be located within the commercial-residential area. The
pattern that is formed when multiple NewVista communities are joined is like a checkerboard.
With all of the transportation and utility easements laid out in a regular grid pattern within each
community, the conjunction of those elements between NewVista communities occurs as a
natural effect of the overall layout of each community.
Upper Levels of Corporate Governance
The NewVista trust is led and managed by a Board of Trustees composed of 12 couples.
The Board of Trustees also serves as the Board of Directors of the capital fund. There is a couple
that acts together as the Chief Executive Officer of the trust and of the community. The Chief
Executive Officer couple serves with two additional couples to form an Executive Presidency.
This paired structure is a part of the entire community governance structure. Every office
in the community (not including clerks) is occupied by a husband-wife couple of maturity and
experience with no children living at home. Presidents of districts, villages, councils, and the
three entities that make up the community serve together with two vice president couples, and
the three couples form a presidency.
The capital fund is headed by the Executive Presidency of the trust. It also has a Financial
Presidency, which controls admission (and expulsion if necessary) of participants, interfaces with
the council of village presidencies in connection with the activities of the villages, oversees all
activities of the property holding company, and has responsibility for the financial health of the
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 community. The capital fund has a Culture-Education Presidency that oversees the council of
district presidencies, who together are responsible for education, culture, and recreation in the
community and for the use of the community’s 24 multipurpose campus buildings. There are 24
district presidencies, one for each district in the community. The Culture-Education Presidency
reports to the Executive Presidency on behalf of the council of district presidencies. The
Operations Presidency of the capital fund oversees the council of village presidencies, who
together are responsible for the general welfare of participants and VistaBizzes in the villages.
The Operations Presidency reports to the Financial Presidency on behalf of the council of village
presidencies.
The property holding company is headed by an Administration Presidency. It also has a
Property Management Presidency that oversees a council of 48 property management officer
couples, a QHSE Presidency that oversees a council of 24 QHSE officer couples, and a
Governance Presidency that oversees a council of 12 governance officer couples. The council of
governance officers serves as the Board of Directors of the property management company. All
officers of the property holding company have general community-wide authority with respect to
the use of community assets and compliance with community bylaws. They are not restricted to
specific districts or villages.
All of the positions described in this section are full-time positions.
It is intended that the governance structure of a NewVista community be completely
balanced between men and women. This promotes equity of competency and allows genderspecific issues to be dealt with appropriately. The community leadership structure ensures that
both men and women are represented equally at all levels, which in turn assures all participants
that they will be subject to fair and balanced decision making processes. Single men and women
fill all of the 144 clerk positions in all of the presidencies at every level of the leadership of the
community.
CONSTRUCTION
Construction Methods
NewVista buildings are constructed from massively scalable components. The number of
elements needed to construct NewVista buildings is kept to a minimum to aid in scalability. All
of the components are manufactured locally. Many raw materials are extracted locally, and every
part used in the construction of buildings, walkway-podways, greenhouses, utility pipes, interior
walls and other elements are reusable and recyclable.
Buildings and modules are assembled from the basic components on site. Modules are the
basic elements that are described above, and include the bathroom module, kitchen module,
façades, and walkway-podway modules, among others. Components are the constituent elements
that are used in the assemblages known as modules. An example of a component would be a
toilet or bed. Components have their own set of elements used in their assembly that are known
as subcomponents, which are made of a single or very basic set of materials.
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 Manufacturing processes for components will have to abide by strict sustainability and
scalability guidelines that are set out in the by-laws of the corporation. For example, a kitchen
counter top is a component of the kitchen module that is manufactured locally from recycled
plastics and perhaps coated with a vinyl surface that has color and texture. The subcomponents
would be the core structure and the surfacing material. The module is designed so that the
counter top component can be massively replicated, reducing costs and improving efficiency.
Many counter tops will be delivered to the community site and used in the assembly of kitchen
modules as buildings are constructed. The modules themselves are designed to be easily
disassembled and reconfigured, ensuring ease in reuse and recyclability of their components.
All of the buildings in NewVista communities are constructed from the same basic set of
components, materials, and using the same methods. This greatly reduces costs associated with
engineering, construction, and maintenance. At its most basic, each NewVista building is simply
a set of prefabricated components. With an elegantly simple and easily reproduced design,
NewVista buildings can have much of the latest in technological systems for water and electricity
that are easy to maintain, and upgrade as needed. Custom construction is not only impossible to
scale, and extremely labor intensive, but also makes maintenance, upgrades and retrofits
impractical.
NewVista buildings are constructed for maximum durability and resistance to
catastrophic events such as earthquakes, tornadoes and flooding. Stone, brick, and artificial stone
formed from aggregate and cement are used extensively as building materials in NewVista
communities. Façades are affixed to the exterior of all buildings, and are easily replaced and
maintained as they are not a structural or load-bearing element of the buildings. This allows for
great variety in texture and appearance from building to building.
Transforming Space
The ease of transformation of space in NewVista buildings provides great flexibility in
use, and aids individuals, VistaBizzes, and other groups to make their NewVista space meet their
specific needs. Walls, furnishings, and appliances can be rearranged easily to accommodate
differing family sizes, and a wide variety of small businesses. Though NewVista communities
have a high population density and approximately 180 square feet of private living space per
person, the care and attention to optimal design that is modular and flexible will not seriously
affect comfort and functionality.
Flexible and transformable spaces pervade the NewVistas model. Not only are houses and
apartments designed and constructed to be easily changed per use and situation, public spaces in
NewVista communities are also designed to serve multiple purposes. Village squares not only
contain garden space for food production, but also house small recreational areas, and quiet
sitting spaces. Walkways are also underground podways and utility easements, and provide the
needed space required for large vehicles to gain access for construction and repair.
Variety

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 The massive scalability of NewVistas includes potential for variation as does, for
example, the human body. Though both are constructed of elements common to other bodies or
communities (a nose, arms, legs, eyes, bones, in the case of the body; concrete slabs glass roofs,
utility easements and gardens in the case of NewVistas), the ultimate aggregation of those
elements into people or communities allows for endless variation. Much of the infinite variation
we find in ourselves and nature can be attributed to small incremental variations. NewVista will
achieve infinite variation in look and feel through small variations in texture, color, patterns, and
style. The fact that NewVistas can accommodate virtually any geographical landscape, and house
any of the vast array of people, or facilitate any of the wide variety of activities, gives to
NewVistas an endless variation of functional and aesthetic customization that humanizes the
experience of being a NewVistas participant.
NewVista technologies and design are conceived for people. It is not green technology for
the sake of being green, but for creating a comprehensive solution that enables humans to reach
their full potential as individuals.
TRANSPORTATION
NewVista developments are designed so that walking is the primary mode of
transportation. Enabling walkability is key to providing an environment in which residents do not
have to depend on fossil fuel based transportation to provide for their daily needs. Everyone will
work within walking distance, and the means by which they attain goods and services will also
be within walking distance. Point-to-point electric pods provide transportation for the disabled
and also for goods and services within the community.
One of the key aspects of transportation in NewVistas is the walkway-podway. This is a
two-level structure built of modular components that are easily replicated and thus massively
scalable. The upper level facilitates walking and bicycling, while the lower level accommodates
sheltered walking and efficient electric pod transport. Included in this design is the utility
infrastructure that also connects all parts of the community. The power for the mechanized pods
is generated locally from clean energy sources. The walkway-podway is also designed to
accommodate freight that is transported in standard-size shipping containers. The electric pods
that are made available in the sub-surface portion of the walkway-podway are intended to
augment the walkability of NewVistas. There are often situations when time and distance
constraints require the use of mechanized transportation. Parents with small children, elderly and
disabled persons, and the need to transport goods to and from one’s home are all situations in
which pods may be used. The vast majority of transportation will be accomplished by walking,
and bad weather will not be a deterrent, as the subsurface portion of the walkway-podway will be
sufficient to accommodate the heaviest of traffic.
NewVistas will require connections to existing transportation networks, such as rail lines
and roadways. This is accomplished by the construction of intermodal stations that can
accommodate conventional vehicles such as cars, buses and trains that carry both people and
freight. The intermodal stations are designed to facilitate easy transfer from conventional
transportation methods to NewVista modes of transportation, and from the NewVista transport
modes to existing networks. Visitors will be able to arrive by conventional means and easily gain
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 access to the NewVista mode of transport, while NewVista residents will have convenient means
of gaining access to transportation that leads outside of the NewVistas network.
FOOD, WATER & SANITATION
Food and Water on 400 Square Meters Per Person
An entire NewVista community is contained within 7.46 square kilometers, or 2.88
square miles, and all of the food and water needs for the whole community are supplied from
within that space. With a population of approximately 15,000 to 20,000, that translates to about
400 square meters, or 0.1 acres, per person. Nutritional needs are provided largely by laborintensive, high-yield organic farming and gardening methods, and the efficient utilization of all
available surface area for food production. Localization of food production reduces the amount
of energy required for food distribution and will utilize economically marginalized groups such
as the very old, young, and disabled. The property holding company will provide garden space to
local farmers. Orchards and gardens cover the village squares in front of the buildings and extend
beyond the back patios behind each building. Farmers and consumers will have many
responsibilities regarding composting of food scraps and inedible plant materials and the proper
use of water for irrigation. Great attention to full cycle processes will be needed to maximize the
efficiency and productivity of getting food from soil to table. A minimal amount of processing
and packaging will be used to ensure freshness and nutritional value. NewVista communities
allow approximately 400 square meters per person, and are thus well within achievable goals for
providing enough calories for each individual. With proper attention to nutritional needs and
high-yield farming methods, this amount of space can not only provide the caloric needs of each
individual within the NewVista footprint, but can be adjusted to provide a well-balanced diet that
is high in variety. Many innovations in technologies to re-use and recycle water for use in
gardening and farming will be implemented to maximize efficiency and minimize ecological
impact. NewVista communities do not consider any water as waste.
The list of benefits to the NewVistas approach for food production and water usage is
very long. Much research into these benefits has raised awareness to an unprecedented level. The
primary goal that can be achieved with the NewVistas model is that of high nutritional value
created by a sustainable system that can be scaled to the entire planet. Paramount in providing
that solution is localized food production that pervades the entire landscape and eliminates the
displacement of the provision of need. This elimination of footprint displacement; the true
provision of needs from within the community’s allotted 7.46 square kilometers (2.88 square
miles) is a truly sustainable and scalable solution.
Greenhouses and Open-Field Agriculture
Another important element of food production for NewVistas is the rooftop greenhouse.
The greenhouses provide extensions of growing seasons. Additionally, the greenhouses provide
accelerated germination for many open-field crops grown in the open agricultural spaces that
surround the communities. The greenhouses will be constructed of steel frames. With this in
mind, it is important to note that NewVista attempts to maximize that efficiency by directly
converting sunlight into usable energy in the form of food. There is no more efficient use of
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 capturing energy from the sun for human use than in photosynthesis. This is a very important
idea in NewVistas and is maximized by the use of virtually the entire surface area of the
community for food production.
Along with intensive urban agriculture and rooftop greenhouses, each community has
four adjacent triangles of land designated for agricultural use, albeit the southern triangle also is
used for heavy industry, drilling, and large pets. These agricultural areas will be used for crops
that require open-field methods that do not lend themselves well to the intensive urban
agriculture of the community, such as rice and other grains. These areas also will be required to
be farmed in labor-intensive organic ways. As needed, additional greenhouses can be built in the
open agricultural zones to accommodate colder climates. Composting, and the recycling and
reuse of what is conventionally considered waste will be an essential component of the
agricultural production processes. Again the holistic integration of all of the systems of NewVista
is paramount in the success of the model as a whole.
Diet
Shaping the diet of individuals in NewVistas is an important element in ensuring the
successful implementation of a scalable and sustainable system. The traditional western diet that
is high in meat proteins and makes use of food that is produced for heavy packaging and longdistance shipping will have to be greatly modified. The use of animals for food will be
significantly reduced, and the housing and feeding of those animals will need to use sustainable
methods that are low-impact such as feed derived from silage and non-human edible plant
materials, and the proper use of animal wastes. Protein needs will be supplemented by fish
grown in large tanks that are integrated into the greenhouses and building systems.
Like many other elements of the NewVistas model, providing for the dietary needs of
residents is a part of enabling behavior modifications that will have ripple effects throughout the
community. There will be a need for regulation of the kinds of food that are made available to
NewVista residents, and this can be accomplished to a certain degree by the community bylaws
and the lease agreements with farmers and other VistaBizzes involved in food production and
distribution. For example, much oversight will be required to ensure that every NewVista
resident has a healthy, well-balanced diet readily available to them within walking distance.
VsitaBizzes that wish to use land for industrial-style beef production simply will not be offered
land for that purpose, and farmers will be given extensive guidance and education in the highyield, organic methods and means by which to vary their crops with seasonal changes. By
institutionalizing the rules that encourage the production and availability of wholesome, fresh,
unprocessed foods, NewVistas participants will have easy choices to make when creating a diet
that is not only healthy but also sustainable. Foods that require a large footprint for their
production, processing, storage, and distribution will be kept out of the system, and it is those
same foods that are the least beneficial to our health.
The 400 square meters (0.1 acres) per person footprint is maintained in NewVista
communities by making use of all of the available surface area for food production. Not only can
the caloric needs of individuals be met within the NewVista footprint, a healthy, well balanced
diet that is high in variety can be provided with careful use of intensive high-yield methods.
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 Aquaculture is integrated into NewVista food production as well. Modern methods of raising fish
have improved significantly in recent years, and this will provide a tasty, healthy, and sustainable
source of protein for NewVista participants.
Water Systems
Water usage in NewVistas will be optimized using many methods, including grey water
for garden irrigation, low-flow taps, and virtually waterless toilets. All of the water the
community needs will be provided by the careful harvest and storage of rainwater and by wells
that access water directly beneath the community. A fully integrated model such as NewVistas
reduces usage and waste by implementing solutions for water recycling that benefit not only
individual and industrial water consumption, but also the greatest water consumer of all, food
production. NewVista water systems are designed for operation at the village level. This
reduction in size from traditionally massive municipal water systems aids in the scalability,
maintenance, and monitoring of such systems and includes the added benefit of easily reducing
environmental impacts. Filtration systems will make use of natural methods and do away with
the need for harsh chemical treatments. Localized harvesting and treatment of water also
emphasizes local responsibility in water usage, giving each resident the opportunity to participate
in the sustainable use, reuse, and recycling of their water. Water and sanitation systems in
NewVistas vastly reduce sewage and effluent discharge. The entire community benefits from this
comprehensive approach to water usage and treatment through thoughtful implementation of
integrated technologies that enable methods such as the extraction of biological wastes for use as
fertilizer in food production, and the capture of grey water for agricultural irrigation.
Use of Biological Wastes
A crucial aspect of the food water and sanitation systems in NewVistas is the careful
attention paid to recycling biological wastes. Individuals will have the infrastructure in place that
will enable easy composting of their personal food waste, and local farmers will also have means
readily available to properly deal with portions of their crops that do not make it to the table.
There will be no need to burn vast amounts of straw as is traditionally done with current openfield agricultural operation. Composting will be integrated into the full-cycle food, water, and
sanitation systems, providing additional material for use as fertilizers.
A key element in NewVistas’ system of biological waste management is an innovative,
nearly waterless toilet, together with systems for the safe and convenient collection and
processing of human waste. The NewVistas model takes an ecological sanitation (ecosan)
approach that enables complete elimination of large-scale sewer systems. This is a well
researched and proven methodology for sanitation that is both economically and ecologically
sustainable and can be designed for massive scalability.
Food and Water Sufficiency
Given the tightly constrained NewVista footprint of 400 square meters per person, a
primary question is, “can this limited amount of space be sufficient for providing all of the food
water and sanitation needs of every individual?” The NewVistas model answers a resounding
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 “Yes!” to this question. With fully integrated and comprehensive solutions that make use of best
practices and carefully selected and scaled technologies, all of the needs of the individual can be
provided within that limited footprint. With methods that enable great reductions in food and
water waste such as low-flow water taps and easily accessible recycling methods as a natural part
of everyday life, the NewVistas model provides enough food for a well balanced diet and plenty
of clean and usable water for drinking and other purposes.
ENERGY
Cutting Consumption
The primary perspective of the NewVistas model on energy is that of vastly reducing
usage and waste. NewVistas also makes use of clean full-cycle energy production systems, but it
is extremely important to note that to keep the community energy footprint to within the allotted
400 square meters (0.1 acres) per person, a vast reduction in usage and waste must be
implemented. Wherever possible the NewVistas model looks closely at cutting extraneous use
and eliminating waste. As discussed previously NewVistas has taken the energy hatchet to one of
the greatest consumers and wasters of energy in modern society: transportation. Additionally, the
NewVistas concept looks at every other aspect of life as an opportunity to cut energy usage and
waste. It is this perspective that enables NewVistas to provide a fully integrated solution that
encompasses not only energy production, but maximization of efficiency in use.
The largest energy consumers in modern civilization are either completely removed or
replaced in the NewVistas model. It is commonly known that cars and trucks are one of the
greatest consumers of energy, and in NewVistas they simply are not included. There are so many
other benefits to the removal of cars, trucks, and other conventional methods of transportation
such as diesel trains. These are important but essentially additions to the vast reduction in energy
usage. A paradigmatic shift in community structure by enabling complete walkability is needed
in order to accomplish this, and the primary benefit in the great reduction of energy usage cannot
be overstated. Sustainability cannot be accomplished by attempting to green-wash individualized
transport.
Another immense reduction in energy usage and waste is accomplished in the way that
NewVista buildings are heated and cooled. By transferring the load of heating and cooling
primarily to waste heat generated in providing electricity for other purposes, NewVista removes
this enormous consumer of energy from the equation. Building lighting is another aspect of
energy usage that is reduced to a bare minimum in the NewVistas model. NewVista buildings are
designed to maximize the use of natural light, and replace area lighting with highly localized spot
lighting. Another large and wasteful energy consumer that is vastly more efficient in NewVista is
the use of high-efficiency appliances. The proper maintenance and usage of appliances and
regulated installation of only the most efficient appliances is key, and accomplished easily, as all
physical assets are owned by the NewVista property holding company. Full-cycle industrial
processes will also play a great role in the great reduction of energy usage that is expected in
NewVistas.

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 Cogeneration and District Energy
A key to the NewVista approach to energy generation is small-scale, local generation of
electricity, using waste heat in cogeneration processes and a “district” approach to heating and
cooling of buildings. In the near term, cogeneration in NewVistas will operate using abundant
carbon-based fuels such as natural gas. With proper design, a cogeneration facility can capture
virtually all of the energy released in the combustion process, and make it available as electricity
and thermal energy. The emissions from combustion will also be captured and put to use in such
ways as enhancing CO2 levels in greenhouses or adding nitrogen to soils.
Energy from Sun, Wind, and Earth
Energy production for NewVista communities will seek to use the sun, wind, and earth as
its primary sources. As technology advances, the NewVista community structure will allow easy
integration of clean renewable technologies into its energy systems.
Energy from the sun involves efficiently capturing energy in the form of photosynthesis,
light, and thermal energy, as well as the generation of electricity using photovoltaic cells if
possible without compromising full use of the surface area of the community for food
production. Wind energy will be harvested for building ventilation using unique technologies that
leverage the structure of the community and its built environment, not by using wind to power
turbines for the large-scale generation of electricity but by using pressure differentials to drive air
circulation. Geoexchange systems are a potential primary source of energy for NewVista
buildings, providing a means by which buildings are heated and cooled if waste heat from
electricity generation facilities is best used for other purposes. Enhanced geothermal systems are
anticipated for the generation of power when the needed technologies mature to the point of
feasibility and such systems can be used sustainably.
Again it is stipulated that the energy footprint of each individual does not extend beyond
the allotted 400 square meters, or 0.1 acres per person. With this very limited energy footprint,
the NewVistas model can be repeated throughout the planet, providing energy sustainability for
all. The earth, sun and wind are our cleanest and most sustainable sources of energy. NewVistas
seeks to utilize them efficiently.
Solar
Solar energy is a major part of energy production for NewVistas. The use of direct
lighting from the sun will reduce much of the demand for electricity often used by lighting
enclosed spaces during the daylight hours. The direct heat provided by the sun also will be used
and captured in a number of ways. Buildings will be constructed to maximize their thermal mass
for heating and cooling.
The highest and best use of solar energy is photosynthesis. Photosynthesis provides an
excellent means by which to capture, store and make use of energy that is available to us in the
form of sunlight.
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 Local Responsibility
An important aspect of energy generation and use in NewVista is the emphasis on
localization. Much of the energy used for daily needs such as building heating and cooling is
produced and used at the house or village level. Even the advanced systems discussed, such as
enhanced geothermal or cogeneration facilities will be constructed or installed at the community
or district level, keeping energy production and use close together. Much can be gained in
efficiency and simplification of design and distribution by keeping energy localized.
Additionally, with the successful implementation of energy production technologies that are
sustainable on a local level, the needed scalability of these solutions follows logically.
Energy Sufficiency
The energy requirements of an individual can be captured within the 400 square meters
per person allotted to each NewVista resident. This is made possible by a unique and careful
blending of sustainable technologies implemented at a local level with attention to the
conservation of energy through radically reducing usage. The energy hatchet swings swiftly and
cleaves large portions of conventional energy use cleanly away. By chopping away at
monumental and institutionalized waste, and providing well designed and integrated clean
energy production and harvest technologies, NewVistas satisfies the energy needs of all with a
very limited footprint.
MATERIALS
Extraction and Production
Raw materials for the construction of NewVistas and for the production of goods in
NewVistas are extracted locally from the ground using advanced drilling technologies. These
materials will be renewable, and recyclable, and used in ways that optimize their usable life and
re-usability. Full-cycle design is an important requirement in maintaining the sustainability of
raw materials extraction, use and recycling. All NewVista industries will be required to abide by
strict rules regarding sustainability and the ability to scale globally.
Materials Recycling
Materials recycling is an integral part of the NewVistas model. The use of raw materials
can only be sustained on a global scale if everything is recycled and reused. Benefits in the
efficiency of materials use can reduce the amount of recycling needed by reduction in packaging
and transportation needs in food production, for example, as the localization of these processes is
an integral part of the NewVistas plan. The NewVistas model seeks to recycle absolutely
everything. The use of recycled materials for their original use helps to ensure the sustainability
of those materials and lengthens the life cycle of the materials as well.

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 Materials Sufficiency
It is possible to provide the raw materials requirements for each individual from the
limited NewVista footprint by making use of abundant and scalable materials such as steel, rock,
brick and concrete. The subsurface rights of each NewVista community, at 7.46 square
kilometers (2.88 square miles) and feasible extraction depths of up to 8 kilometers (5 miles),
provide over 59 cubic kilometers (14 cubic miles) of earth from which aggregate and other
materials can be extracted. Not only are these types of materials massively scalable, they can be
sustainable as well, due to the ease with which they can be reused and recycled. Localized
extraction and recycling enables the sustainability of materials use.
The use of fossil resources is not prohibited in NewVista, but such resources should be
used to make things, not burned for fuel. Fossil resources will be used primarily for the
production of materials such as plastics and other polymers which are easily recycled and reused
to a point of being sustainable.
COMMERCE AND SOCIETY
Industry and Commerce
Healthy industry and commerce are essential to the success of NewVistas. Both the
infrastructure and the organizational structure of NewVista are designed specifically to enable
this to happen on a massive scale. A certain degree of protection must be provided to businesses
within NewVistas to reduce or eliminate the influx of goods produced externally in unsustainable
ways.
Sustainable practices and improvements in technologies will become a natural by-product
of the freedom that individuals gain by not being required to own or accumulate personal
property. If the maintenance and operation of community-owned physical assets is not
accomplished in a sustainable way, residents will exercise the other very important type of
walkability that is designed into the NewVista model—the ability to easily walk away and take
up residence in a better house, village, or community.
Corporate Capital and Ownership
Each NewVista community is operated through a separate trust, which controls two for
profit entities with corporate structures. The NewVista capital fund owns intellectual property
and financial assets. The NewVista property holding company owns all of the physical assets in
the community. When a new participant joins a NewVista community, his/her intellectual assets
and cash (except for operating cash, which is deposited with the community’s approved bank)
are deposited with the NewVista capital fund. If a participant owns business assets that will be
used in a VistaBiz, those assets will be transferred to the NewVista property holding company
and leased back. The new participant obtains housing as a benefit of employment. The
aggregation of all participants’ assets affords the corporation great leverage for the financing and
purchase of physical assets such as business equipment for which it can in turn offer excellent
lease terms. It is in the best interests of all parties involved to maintain the quality of processes
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 and condition of physical assets so that successful and sustainable businesses can continue to
exist and enrich the lives of all residents.
If a new resident comes to a NewVista community with little or no existing assets, a
sweat equity program may be worked into a VistaBiz agreement to help them build assets for
themselves.
VistaBizzes in NewVista are wholly owned by one NewVista participant. If the capital
fund or property holding company incur costs in connection with the VistaBiz, they may be
entitled to share revenues for a time until the community’s “investment” is recouped.
Capital for a NewVista community is provided by deposits of participants; short- and
long-term notes and non-voting equity interests sold to qualified investors; and grants from local,
state, and national governments and foundations.
Local Responsibility
Environmental stewardship and economic success are maintained at the local level,
giving individuals and their neighbors vested interest in the sustainability and success of their
community. The ability of this localization to enable scale is important because the sustainability
of a community must have a clearly defined limit to its footprint. The ability to scale these
communities to sustainably support large urban areas of up to one million people will be
important in providing sophistication to the economies and societies that arise. Cultural
refinement and tolerance will be easily accommodated by groups that do not need to worry for
the future of their current way of life.
Education
Education is key to the attainment and maintenance of a sustainable society. For a good
society, education must be of central importance. The NewVistas concept contemplates a private
education system in which residents pay for their children and for themselves. Instead of
lockstep grades and grade levels, NewVistas adopts an outcome-based system in which
certifications are provided for mastery of material rather than partial understanding. Professors
and teachers form education businesses and develop curricula.
Education isn’t a one-time, full-time endeavor in NewVistas but a part-time, lifetime
endeavor.
Privacy and Community
The NewVistas model attempts to strike a workable balance between individual privacy
and the demands of the human as a social being that needs a community. Every participant is
afforded his/her own private space, and the community is laid out to allow plenty of space for
individuals or small groups. Along with that, the NewVistas concept places great importance in
the idea of a community, and the benefits that can be had by organizing and working together at
varying levels. Again, the requirement of walkability goes a long way in aiding the sense of
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 community that can be felt, as residents will be facing each other on a daily basis, moving at
human speeds, in a human-scaled environment.
BENEFITS OF A COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION
Many eco-development designs and projects claim to be sustainable, but when examined
closely it becomes apparent that they cannot be extended to the entire global population. It is not
enough to build a few zero-emissions buildings if they are constructed within the same
development model that requires the inhabitants to travel great distances to and from buildings—
whether it is their home or place of work, or if the food consumed by the inhabitants is shipped
and trucked many thousands of miles. Solutions for sustainability must be comprehensive.
A truly sustainable solution requires a comprehensive solution that is scalable, and the
required level of scalability is global. These concepts of sustainability and scalability are
intertwined in such a way that the NewVistas concept accepts them together as a prerequisite for
achieving the restoration of global ecological balance.
The NewVistas project will construct comprehensive eco-communities with clearly
defined and measurable footprints that do not extend beyond 7.46 square kilometers (2.88 square
miles). Such communities will provide 400 square meters (0.1 acres) per person, which will
constitute the full ecological footprint on which participants in the community are sustained.
There is no doubt about what must be done. Fully integrated, planned urban
developments are an answer to the question of how we can get it done.
The NewVistas model requires great attention to the technologies that are chosen and
implemented so that they can work together to provide meaningful sustainability. The desire to
create a cohesive solution that can work for everyone does not arise from an emotional need to
feel better about the way we impact our planet. It comes from a recognition that the technologies
exist or can be invented and integrated in ways that will have a real impact, create a solution for
maintaining our existence on this planet, and produce an equitable distribution of the earth’s
bountiful resources. NewVistas will enable us to flourish.

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