Stop idolizing Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Próspera

There are much more utopian cities than these.

This is part of “Let Cities Build Utopia,” an 11-part series on the future of cities. Collect the complete series as a print pamphlet, digital pamphlet, or audiobook. 👇🏻

My essay series so far has argued for a revival of the city-state: Fully autonomous, self-governing cities, with the ability to master-plan and raise their own revenue.

But here we must realize: Autonomy is not enough.

Hong Kong, for instance, is a Special Autonomous Region (SAR) with near Singapore-level autonomy over land and taxation, even as it exists inside a larger nation. Like Singapore, Hong Kong started out as an island under colonial rule and uses a near-identical land rent scheme.

But Hong Kong did not create the same quality of life that Singapore did.