Rio Communities was a project by the Horizon Land Corporation which left similar failed projects throughout the Southwest and has since often been accused of running an outright scam.

In the meantime, Rio Rancho is a functioning suburb to the NW of Albuquerque but was originally planned to be much, much larger than it is today and has a road grid stretching far into the distance, not all of which is even in the modern city limits.

At the same time, huge new developments are currently underway in the Albuquerque area (Mesa Del Sol, Santolina), suggesting that this boom and bust cycle may continue today.

I have some info and photos about both California City and the Rio Communities on my website: https://jbcrawford.us/travelogue/mojave2016 https://jbcrawford.us/travelogue/nmfailed