ana025: Free Private Cities | Titus Gebel Interview

We interview Titus Gebel, the Founder, President and CEO of Free Private Cities Inc.

Free Private Cities is working towards building new, greenfield cities using a model of individual bilateral contracts between each citizen and the city owner/operator.

In his book, "Free Private Cities: Making Governments Compete for You," Titus describes why and how Free Private Cities should be developed.

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View full show notes at http://anarchitecturepodcast.com/ana025.

The Free Private Cities Concept
Individual contracts A simple idea, with profound consequences Autonomy from the host nation
Real World prototypes: Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore Unique forms of urban development
Patrik Schumacher - Market Based Urban Order
Open to market experimentation
Competing service provider models
Incentives to cover maintenance costs Book: Free Private Cities: Making Governments Compete for You by Titus Gebel

What is a Free Private City (FPC)?
A concept to make governments compete for you Rights and obligations of citizen and service provider are captured in an individual contract A contract should not be changed by only one party The Monaco realization - good governance makes political action unnecessary
Location location location!
Is a weak or friendly sponsor government a geographical feature? Location factors -
climate proximity to infrastructure access to trade technology can improve desirability of remote locations and seasteads
How does the process get started?
Spread the idea Proposals from candidate countries Legal autonomy is the hardest part The sales pitch - Special Economic Zones Seeking finance: $100m opens a lot of doors At some point, they will hopefully compete for us
Examples - Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Macao
More than 4,000 Special Economic Zones (SEZ's) and Special Administrative Regions (SAR's) already exist SEZ's create wealth for the surrounding regions
How do you integrate existing occupants?
Concept is based on 100% voluntary participation Ideal is to start on uninhabited territory Existing occupants
Referendum to join city Offer free/discounted citizenship Compensation for displacement
How does property ownership work?
Everything is conceivable City operator is a for-profit entity Operator would likely own the land, sell parcels to raise funds Option agreements or partnerships with existing landowners Lease model - less likely but also possible User fees alone may not be sufficient
Push vs. Pull development
Start small, organic growth Some master planning is needed for easements, etc. Patrik Schumacher - zoning for aesthetics in city center "The Freak Zone" in outer areas - little or no zoning
Lighter touch, use based zoning
Height and noise restrictions alone can determine uses
Opportunities for more unique urban forms
Disneyland as a SEZ Patrik Schumacher - Market Based Urban Order We don't know, so we want to try it out Different districts with different rules
How do you manage change?
Noise threshold and other development rights can be sold
Multiple competing operators / providers within one city?
This is possible for certain services Provision of security should be a monopoly Transaction costs too high "I'm happy if people can prove me wrong" Competing security within subdevelopments, with subsidiarity to the operator San Francisco private police force
City operator as an intermediary
"Social contract" is a contract between each individual and every other individual People think they own city assets because they pay taxes The FPC contract model clarifies the relationship In a FPC, other citizens can't interfere with your contract with the operator Much better protection for individual liberties Representative systems are susceptible to lobbying, cronyism, power plays Taxes don't entitle you to any services
FPC operator is liable for malperformance of contract - compensation for poor security performance
Joe's house was broken into
Only role of the police was an official report for the insurance claim Monaco car vandalism - direct access to the minister More cameras, and more screening of immigrants "If you are not punishing people for doing bad things, they will do it again" Cameras and police presence in an FPC - not as creepy as when a government does it - is it a surveillance state if there is no state? There are always trade offs If you are not providing effective security, you will go out of business People come to Monaco because the cameras are there, keeping them safe A cruise ship captain can legally abuse his passengers - but he treats them like customers
How would disputes between a citizen and the operator be adjudicated?
Third party arbitration, special courts No different than any major construction contract Minimum payment to arbitrators is $1,200 - not feasible for small claims Small claims tribunals a potential solution Easier in theory than in practice
Other means of citizen involvement in city management
It's not so important who owns the city operator, as long as the contracts are enforced Some cities might require citizens to purchase a share of ownership Cooperatives are possible Various councils can be formed, but cannot violate citizen contracts or force changes to the contract
Public space is one service offered by the operator
Kicking someone out of a city means preventing them from using public space. Cities who expel criminals from public and private spaces will end up looking less like a police state
Restitution to victims
Operator makes citizen whole, criminal owes the operator compensation Keep punishment/imprisonment to a minimum, prefer expulsion and compensation to victims Multiple laboratories to see what really works
Projects on the horizon
Subscribe to FPC newsletter for updates Buy the book (link below)

Free Private Cities Website
The Book: Free Private Cities: Making Governments Compete for You by Titus Gebel
Listen to the Audiobook for free at Mises.org
Subscribe to the Newsletter
Patrik Schumacher
Free Market Urban Order (YouTube) Architecture's Contribution to the Progress of Freedom, Patrik Schumacher 2019 (YouTube)

Patrik Schumacher Series
ana011: Patrik Schumacher (3 of 4) | The Interview
ana023: Strong Towns for Libertarians | Chuck Marohn Interview

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