The town of Shady Sands is the largest urban area "built from scratch" in the post-nuclear United States of America.
Founded by a great ancestor of Aradesh belonging to one of the groups emerging from Vault 15, it was jump-started using the G.E.C.K., which allowed the dwellers to establish a self-sufficient community and erect structures. In the 2240s, the small settlement grew and expanded to the point of forming one of the most influential powers to emerge in the mid-23rd century, the New California Republic (or NCR).
By 2161, it was a small, thriving, completely self-sufficient community. They managed to modify some of the wasteland soil to support crops (primarily corn and cabbage), drill a well to provide water, and even establish livestock herds. They kept mostly to themselves and proved large enough to deter most of the problems the wasteland presented, primarily the Khans raiders and the radscorpion attacks that plagued them. Both of these threats slowly escalated. As radscorpions were becoming more and more numerous and aggressive, while the raiders seemed hell bent on bringing excitement at any cost. Their agriculture, while managing to sustain them in the arid region, was lacking as well.
By 2241, Shady Sands had become one of the most significant settlements in New California, becoming the capital of the New California Republic with Aradesh as the nation's first president and Tandi as its second.