That's what New Mexico is doing -- building a high-tech ghost-town in which to test smart energy technology. The hope is that this desert outpost will become the kernel for a smart energy tech corridor:
The ghost town will have all the modern conveniences, including new buildings, old-style buildings, houses, apartments, schools, commercial blocks, and traffic lights. But it will not have all the usual users of such conveniences, including dental hygienists, CEOs, angst-ridden teenagers, commuters, soccer moms, tax lawyers, and executive assistants. In fact, the only people allowed will be scientists and engineers. It’s a scientists-only ghost-town club.
