Also presenting at the 2008 Ecocity World Summit is Jeff Stein, Chairman of the Cosanti Foundation. In 1970, the Cosanti Foundation began building Arcosanti, an experimental town in the high desert of Arizona, 70 miles north of metropolitan Phoenix. Conceptualized by Italian-American visionary architect Paolo Soleri, Arcosanti is intended to be the first example of an arcology, or architectural ecology. When complete, Arcosanti will house 5,000 people, demonstrating ways to improve urban conditions and lessen our destructive impact on the earth. Its large, compact structures and large-scale solar greenhouses will occupy only 25 acres of a 4,060 acre land preserve, keeping the natural countryside in close proximity to urban dwellers.