This article is part of a new series on Visionaries. The New York Times selected people from all over the world who are pushing the boundaries of their fields, from science and technology to culture and sports.

For James Ehrlich , farm-to-table is just a starting point for the future.

The New York native , who migrated to Silicon Valley decades ago, is the founder and president of ReGen Villages, which seeks to create self-reliant ecosystems globally.

In addition to running ReGen, Mr. Ehrlich is also an entrepreneur in residence at Stanford University , where he focuses on sustainability and infrastructure . Among his other appointments, he also is on the faculty of Singularity University, an educational community that focuses on global challenges and is affiliated with the Ames Research Center, NASA’s Silicon Valley center .

Mr. Ehrlich is anything but a typical real estate developer. Instead, his company, which he started in 2016, derives from his concern for the environment and his love of farming communities. His idea is to establish a far-reaching plan to create new neighborhoods that will generate their own power through solar photovoltaic panels, biomass and biogas from material, food and animal waste, and geothermal sources, to name but a few. The communities will also grow their own food largely from aquaponic farms, which essentially combine plants with fish cultivation in water.