A roundup of recent developments in charter cities and model city projects, including setbacks for Prospera and NEOM, new proposals in the US, and updates on various other projects worldwide. Longer summary

This post covers recent developments in various charter city and model city projects worldwide. It starts with Prospera in Honduras being declared unconstitutional, discussing their two-pronged strategy of waiting for political change and pursuing international arbitration. It then covers Saudi Arabia's NEOM project scaling back its ambitions, Trump's proposal for 'freedom cities' in America, California Forever's strategic pivot in Solano County, and Bhutan's ambitious Geluphu Mindfulness City project. The post ends with brief updates on other model city projects including Praxis, Fumba, Esmeralda, and Kanye West's Middle East plans. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines several model city projects, including Saudi Arabia's Neom, criticizing its unrealistic plans and discussing other developments in crypto-friendly zones and floating cities. Longer summary

This post discusses several model city projects, focusing on Saudi Arabia's ambitious Neom project, the Catawba Digital Economic Zone, and the Maldives Floating City. Scott critically analyzes Neom's unrealistic plans, including a 170 km long linear city and other grandiose features. He expresses concern about the misuse of Saudi Arabia's oil wealth on this project. The post also covers the Catawba Nation's crypto-friendly economic zone and a planned floating city in the Maldives. Scott concludes with updates on other model city projects and makes predictions about the future of these developments. Shorter summary