Could I build a city there? (Burns, Lakeview: for sale, heat pump, buying)

[TheLastVigilante]

Hey y'all,first off I'd like to say that after doing some googling that I found the desert region of eastern Oregon to be very gorgeous.This is my first time posting in the Oregon forum so I could really use your help on this one.Is there any area of land large enough in the desert of eastern Oregon where one could build a city say the size of Fort Worth or Indianapolis?Would the mountains and hills be a factor in not making this theoretical city possible?I would love your input.
P.S. To anybody worried that I would actually take on this project,let me assure you, I have the neither the resources or capital to accomplish this project in the least.I swear.Its just for curiosity sakes.Promise.

[texasdiver]

It's been tried. Check out the Netflix Documentary Wild Wild Country: https://www.netflix.com/title/80145240

Theoretically you could build a city anywhere including on mars or the bottom of the ocean. In real life cities grow organically as a result of economic drivers like trade, manufacturing, natural resource extraction, government, or defense. And geograpic drivers like access to water, transportation corridors, etc. If those drivers existed in eastern Oregon then cities would already be there.

At various times in the past century, countries have tried to build new cities from nothing. Brasilia is one example as is Canberra. There's a new government built city in Myanmar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naypyidaw In point of fact, Washington DC was a newly planned city built from nothing at one time.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

There isn't enough water to support any sort of population, not even a very small population. That is why there is so much empty space in Eastern Oregon.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Plus, much of eastern Oregon is owned by the US Gubmint:

https://projects.oregonlive.com/maps...ship/index.php

[leastprime]

Then there are the land use planning boards of Burns, Lakeview and Antelope who will fight you.

[StealthRabbit]

Check with the Rajhneesh, they have experience building cities in eastern Oregon.

[Larry Caldwell]

Cheaper to just buy one. I know that Tiller is for sale in Douglas County. I suspect there are cities for sale east of the Cascades too.

[Hawk J]

Invest in several used water tanker trucks. Bring them (Full) when you come...


When we were looking to buy land, i always looked for land with underground artesian springs.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Hawk J

...

When we were looking to buy land, i always looked for land with underground artesian springs.

and consider Idaho to find a natural Hot Springs (for heat and recreation). Much of downtown Boise is heated by 'real' geo-thermal. (Not ground / water-source heat pumps, which now market themselves as geo-thermal.) Oregon has quite a few Geo-thermal areas as well.

Buying an existing city is a very good idea, as it saves a lot of permit and infrastructure problems (neither are fast or cheap). Several cities in OR and the PNW have been 'acquired'. I'm looking at a small town in Kansas sand hills.

[Terryj]

This has been tried in Central Oregon, Christmas Valley comes to mind. There was a planned town site however, it really never panned out the way Phillips thought it would. He sold a number of lots, but very few people stayed due to the remoteness and weather conditions, very hot in the summer and very cold in the winters. There have been a few people stick it out but for a community planned for 5000+ only about a 1000 people currently live in the area.