cryptoleft

Really interesting and in-depth article.

I’ve been reading about for-profit cities for a couple of years now, and the concept just sounds really wrong to me.

Really interesting and in-depth article.

I’ve been reading about for-profit cities for a couple of years now, and the concept just sounds really wrong to me.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/magazine/prospera-honduras-crypto.html

in case someone wants to read it (and does not have a subscription)..

@vocdoni, prev. Bitcoin Magazine | Purple #203 | Cohost: /diy /anthropology /vote /biohacking /cooperatives

in case someone wants to read it (and does not have a subscription).. https://archive.ph/bopvH

I completely support the idea of diversity of social arrangements, for me we need even more diversity in the world (or more freedom to experiment).

But it’s difficult to me to see profit-driven cities accountable to their inhabitants and not to profit margins. If the goal of a city shifts from public interest to maximizing shareholders and investors value, I can imagine that in the mid-long term there will be a big disconnection between the city’s leadership and the citizens real needs. Especially in moments of stress/change/crisis.

Universality is key and to me it’s hard to see how it can exist in a city controlled by shareholders rather than its citizens.  When governance is driven by those who have a speculative interest holding shares of the project (and lots of times the peoele with vision gets replced by investment groups) the interests of the broader community are typically in a second term.

Do you have any thoughts on how a for profit city could find this balance?

I would not want the average city to be a profit-making corporation, but also I feel a strong default negative instinct against anyone arguing that there should be exactly zero of a thing in the entire world. Institutional diversity is good.