The idea of creating new cities that are unencumbered by the problems of the host countries where they are located has fascinated me ever since I watched Paul Romer's TED talk titled "Why the world needs charter cities" (first video below). It looks like his idea is catching on. The Central American country of Honduras has recently amended its constitution to pave the way for creating start-up cities called ZEDEs, Zones for Employment and Development of the Economy (second video below). The idea for the ZEDE's originates in Paul Romer's idea of a charter city, but it is also distinctly Honduran. I am sure Ethiopia and other African countries can adopt this idea for the benefit of their people.
2 comments:
I heard about "charter cities" a while back on an episode of This American Life (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/483/self-improvement-kick , Act Two). While the idea was rosy, the episode put some grey, food for thought on the table. Should you find it interesting ...
I like the piece at the link you shared since it tells the story primarily from a Honduran point of view. But the story is dated. The Hondurans have since amended their constitution to address the issues raised in their Supreme Court. See the second link in my original post. The second video also addresses this court challenge. Yes, the Hondurans will face lots of obstacles in their efforts to make this idea happen. This is a goal worthy of experimenting and I wish them success.
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