Speculation

BarrenLand

Scenario

In 2030, a technology corporation bought a ghost town in the desert in Nevada and established its own new company and community, mainly responsible for space technology research, named BarrenLand.

The ghost town, which died in 2010, still retained a particular infrastructure, so the company can quickly build BarrenLand and put it into use. In addition, the company proposed a co-living and co-creating community. The company promised employees to have better security, higher salaries, and more convenient living facilities. In 2035, BarrenLand was up and running, and many employees moved to BarrenLand to start their new lives. It is like a miniature city, containing housing, a grocery store, a pharmacy, other retail space, a hotel, a visitor/ cultural center, and several parks and plazas. Corporations are working on acting in the roles once held by the state and government. Taking control of public services policing and community activities is an apparent cause for concern. In addition, riots and strikes are not forgotten. Digital surveillance and technology are also a means of control. Will this lead to employees losing a certain amount of privacy? What if the authoritative without social vision, will the community fall apart?

Dissonance

In 2035, More and more companies are building their own company community. The companies propose co-living and co-working ideal communities, but will have the same powers as the local government. How will the rights of residents be guaranteed in such a community?

Reasons behind ghost town's abandonment

Economic activity shifting elsewhere

Ghost towns may result when the single activity or resource that created a boomtown (e.g., nearby mine, mill or resort) is depleted or the resource economy undergoes a “bust” (e.g., catastrophic resource price collapse). Sometimes the town might cease to officially exist, but the physical infrastructure remains.

Human intervention

Railroads and roads bypassing or no longer reaching a town.
River re-routing is another factor.
Some towns become deserted when their populations are massacred.
Ghost towns may be created when land is expropriated by a government.
Sometimes the town might cease to officially exist, but the physical infrastructure remains.

Disasters, actual and anticipated

Natural and man-made disasters.

Disease and contamination

Significant fatality rates from epidemics. Catastrophic environmental damage caused by long-term contamination.

ID-based community

As BarrenLand's central element,acts as the community's portal, operates as a data nexus, and enables self-monitoring — fundamental to what sets BarrenLand apart.

Centered on the ID concept, BarrenLand stands out with three defining traits. It champions unsupervised self-monitoring, granting residents unparalleled freedom and privacy, fostering personal responsibility. The community upholds non-violent consequences for reported crimes, stripping individuals of privileges like entertainment access while ensuring their right to home and work. BarrenLand offers flexible workspaces, indoors and outdoors, promoting collaboration, accessible through device connection and data upload.

Scenario and products

Within the BarrenLand, a range of essential elements takes center stage:

Personalized identification (ID), the removal of ID-activated firearms (ID Neutralizer Pistol), versatile indoor-outdoor workstations (Flexi-Hub), and mobile office vehicle (Vertical V).