A favorite topic of Paolo Soleri is to debate Self-sufficiency vs Self-reliance at School of Thought discussions.
Soleri's is known for getting opinionated about certain words like Utopia, Self-sufficiency, Organic Architecture. Possibly its his concern that words are often abused and that over his life people have taken his words and thoughts out of context with what he thought he was trying to convey.
Whatever the reason for his reactionary tendency when people use the wrong words, its clear that he is trying to convey a clear sense of meaning that he sees as often convoluted by other people who don't think the way he does and possibly don't have the same discipline he does in relation to the proper use of words.
One example of this is how at various points in his life he has expended considerable time over Self-sufficiency vs Self-reliance.
This may seem odd to someone who sees Arcology as attempting to create self-sufficient cities. His concern though revolves around trying to do everything needed for a city in a city. He is very much a globalist who believes in global trade between cities. If you could imagine the Arcology is as a post-modern/post-industrial City-State we cannot in his mind realistically see that as prospering without the collaboration with other cities if not around the world at least within its immediate region of the world. His belief is centered on the idea common among globalists that in the modern world it is neither desirable or feasible to try to produce all things needed for life in a habitat, city or even a region.
Now in terms of the contrast between Self-sufficiency vs Self-reliance the best way to explain and parse the difference i that within an Arcology we are striving to become more self-reliant and not to produce everything onsite.
Indeed some in the ecology and Appropriate Technology movements seek or aspire to build communities or cities that sets goals of producing all the things they need within their confines. Soleri would see this as a false path because it leads to isolation and what he terms the Global Hermitage.
It might be a better solution rather than seeking to position oneself as totally trying to get off the grid for example, we might say we are tying to increase the percentage of what we produce locally to reduce the cost and ecological impact of importing those items from corporate entities that usually embrace dubious manufacturing and extraction practices.
While the amount of food we produce at Arcosanti can be increased a considerable amount, with existing best practices. Yet it might be better to focus on the huge solar potential of the site. So one would design a strategy for self-reliance based on the reality, needs and priorities of Arcosanti rather than some preset standards for becoming self-sufficient.