This session will involve a presentation and discussion on: “Why Build?” about the motivations for creating entirely new physical environments to inhabit and in which to foster community and culture. This will be an elaboration on a talk delivered at Edge City Austin earlier this year, but updated to include discussion about the land that is now actively being pursued, and a description of the Austantinople project’s plan as a proposed roadmap for effectively building such towns.

In addition, I’ll present an analysis of potential financial returns from such ventures, informed by market comparables, in an attempt to answer: what economic returns can reasonably be expected from town-building?

Ben established Austantinople, a town-building project that shares many values with Esmeralda, almost 3 years ago, and is currently working to acquire 500+ acres in the vicinity of Austin, TX.