Starting cities is a fascinating idea that doesn't happen all that frequently anymore - but of course it does happen. Makes me think of Al Khatt (The Line) in Saudi Arabia. More likely than starting new small cities (at least in the US of 2023), I think we're talking about growing towns, villages, and townships into small cities. Bend, OR is a good example. 30 years ago it had a population of less than 25,000 people. Today it's basically the same size as South Bend. What drives that growth? Are they learning from past city's mistakes as they expand? Is there anything a city like South Bend can learn from them?
It's a very good question and distinction. I'm also interested in what the goal for small cities actually is. Is it population growth? Is it economic growth? Is it some measure of quality of life, no matter the population size? This is part of the reason why I'm interested in what happens if small cities can make their problems more legible to entrepreneurs (internal or external), and how solving for quality of life problems first may then lead to interesting economic growth as well.
Starting cities is a fascinating idea that doesn't happen all that frequently anymore - but of course it does happen. Makes me think of Al Khatt (The Line) in Saudi Arabia. More likely than starting new small cities (at least in the US of 2023), I think we're talking about growing towns, villages, and townships into small cities. Bend, OR is a good example. 30 years ago it had a population of less than 25,000 people. Today it's basically the same size as South Bend. What drives that growth? Are they learning from past city's mistakes as they expand? Is there anything a city like South Bend can learn from them?
It's a very good question and distinction. I'm also interested in what the goal for small cities actually is. Is it population growth? Is it economic growth? Is it some measure of quality of life, no matter the population size? This is part of the reason why I'm interested in what happens if small cities can make their problems more legible to entrepreneurs (internal or external), and how solving for quality of life problems first may then lead to interesting economic growth as well.